Broken and Reborn, Stella
by Acidika
Summary: Humans are not tools, nor toys. This is a basic moral concept, but when it is disregarded the results can be horrific. Stella, a girl sold as a sex slave, is one such result, until Motoko Kusanagi rescues her from her sadistic owner while making a raid on an organized crime ring. From that, Stella is given new life with Section 9. Rated M for sexual content, language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Inspiration for this story initially was from a fanart of a robotic Black Rock Shooter, and I thought, 'That'd be something from like, Ghost In The Shell or some cyberpunk shit...'**

 **So I did a thing.**

 **I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this story, it is a fan-made story, and no copyright infringement was intended. All rights belong to the respective owners. This is created for entertainment purposes only.**

* * *

Her name... was Stella.

The only real identity that the girl had, and it was based on simple observation, a small star shaped birthmark on her forehead, just above her left eye.

Isolated from the outside world for as long as she could remember, Stella was condemned as a sex slave, kept in a dark basement for all the hours of the day. To make matters worse, her current owner, a cruel and sadistic monster of a man, had decided in the past week that Stella no longer required the use of her legs or right arm... and had them aputated.

Her entire right arm, and both legs from mid-thigh were gone, leaving only her left arm unharmed, 'so that you can still jerk me off, you worthless piece of shit!' as her owner had snarled at her once he'd removed her limbs with a heavy cleaver, much to her agony and terror.

So, at the present, she just stared, almost in a trance, at a small spider crawling along the wall she was leaning against, covered in bruises and a fair number of cuts. She was naturally pale, but her years confined to basements and sex dungeons made her nearly snow white. Her sapphire blue eyes gave but a tiny glint of life, aside from her breathing disturbing the dusty wall at regular intervals.

Above her, she could hear the sounds of her owner and at least a dozen men, all playing some sort of card game. This was all normal activity for whatever time it was... but once night came, he'd come down here and rape her, torture her, and constantly humiliate her. He sometimes even brought his friends down to watch, even to join in at times.

Stella continued to stare at the spider, which suddenly froze, as if it sensed something. Stella weakly lifted her head, and the spider bolted for a nearby hole, which was likely it's nest, as the sounds of heavy footsteps reached Stella's ears. The next thing she knew, her owner came hurrying down the nearby stairs and roughly hauled her onto his lap, holding a strange object in his free hand as he faced the stairs.

"Shit shit! Fuck! How'd they figure this place out!? There's no way! It's not possible!" Her owner's hand was shaking on the strange object, his finger curled around a particular part that had a ring around it and his finger.

"Oh, it's certainly possible, no thanks to our informant." a voice that Stella had never heard before suddenly spoke up from nearby, but Stella's half-closed eyes couldn't see anyone. Was it another friend of her owners? Coming to rape her?

Suddenly, a distortion in the air caught her attention, but her owner shoved the end of the strange object against the side of her head, holding what was left of her body in front of himself, using her remaining arm as a grip behind her back.

"Stay back, I've got a hostage!" He yelled as a person shimmered into sight.

"My name is Major Motoko Kusanagi, from Public Security Section 9! Lower your weapon and release the girl!" The woman held up a similar strange object, holding it with both hands as she pointed it towards Stella and her owner. "I will use lethal force!"

"Section 9, huh?! What's your deal? She's just a useless crippled slut slave! She's nothing to me!" Stella's owner pressed the 'weapon' harder against Stella's head, and tightened his grip on her wrist behind her back, causing her to whimper in pain.

Stella locked eyes with the woman, and in that instant, her sapphire gaze met with the Major's ruby one...

"Help... me..."

Then the Major pulled the trigger.

With a reverberating BANG, her owner's head flew back, and his grip on Stella's wrist slackened, allowing her to fall forward, right into the arms of the Major, who was speaking to another person over her shoulder.

"Get a med-evac immediately! This girl's malnourished and severely wounded! Hurry!"

In the Major's arms Stella felt a strange sensation, one that was normally locked deep in her psyche...

She felt safe.

* * *

Stella was in and out of consciousness only a few times for the next few days, each for only a few moments, but each time, she distinctly remembered seeing the Major's worried face watching over her. She knew that since the Major was there, she was safe...

Safe...

* * *

"Major, are you sure you should be doing this for that girl?" Batou asked on the fifth day since the Major had saved the girl. She'd been in the hospital the whole time, silently watching over the injured girl.

"She was used as a sex slave for who knows how long, and by the look of her wounds, she's lucky she hadn't contracted any sort of illnesses or virus. I have a duty to help her." The Major continued to stare at the girl, unable to explain the strange feeling she'd get whenever she looked at the helpless girl. "She's going in for cybernetics in an hour, she's entirely organic... Not a single implant in her body."

"Hmm..." The large cyborg beside her hummed in thought, likewise turning his gaze to the frail girl laying on the bed through the glass. "What are you gonna do once she wakes up?"

"I'm going to help her." The Major replied, putting her hand on the glass with a forlorn expression on her face.

* * *

Stella suddenly awoke with a start. Unlike when she was drifting in and out of consciousness, the Major wasn't there, and she immediately felt a sense of panic rising in her throat.

She looked around in desperation, but couldn't find the Major. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, only for a whooshing sound to reach her ears. She turned to see the Major and a very old looking man in a suit entering the room.

"How're you feeling?" The Major asked, sitting on the edge of the bed she was in... Clean, with a blanket covering her.

Stella said nothing, too terrified by the hard faced old man standing near the door. She held the Major's gaze only for a few seconds, mustering the courage just to mumble. "S-Safe."

"That's right, you're safe now." The Major smiled slightly, and the small change in facial expression seemed to bolster the girl's confidence slightly.

"Stella." She said very carefully, still getting used to her own timid voice.

"Motoko Kusanagi." The Major held out her hand, and Stella immediately flinched out of fear, only to realize that the Major wasn't going to hurt her, like her owner always did.

It was at this moment that Stella realized that something was different about herself...

She had two arms.

Stella's heart rate began to increase as she stared at the black metal arm attached to her body. There was no way... her owner cut it off!

"Hey, it's okay, relax. Your body was severely wounded, so to save your life, the doctors had to give your cybernetic limbs." The Major gently grasped Stella's organic hand, and the startled girl seemed to relax at her touch. "You have legs too."

Stella's eyes widened suddenly, then she tentatively reached towards the blankets with her metal arm and felt the distinctive long shapes that had up until recently been so familiar to her anatomy.

"Why?" Stella couldn't understand why the Major was doing this. Was the Major her new owner, just changing her body like her old owner did?

"You asked me to help you... So I am." The Major smiled again, then turned to the old man. "Chief, should I explain things to her, or will you?"

"I believe that Stella should decide." The old man spoke in a rather gravelly voice, turning his head slightly when he'd been addressed.

"Well, Stella... Who should explain things to you? Me or the Chief?" The Major asked gently, allowing the girl to consider her words for several long quiet seconds.

"Major..." Her grip on the Major's hand tightened slightly as she spoke.

"Okay, so..." The Major idly crossed her leg over the other before continuing. "Considering the possibility of psychological trauma, alongside your new cybernetic body, we at Section 9 have decided to place you into our protective custody, at least until we can locate any next of kin. Because of this, we've elected to bring you back to our HQ once you're officially discharged from the hospital."

"Safe?" Stella couldn't help but ask, a shadow of worry passing over her pale face.

"Yes, you'll be safe." The Major smiled warmly. "There is one problem though..."

The shadow passed over her face again, and her fingers unconsciously tightened in the Major's hand.

"To do that, I need to leave for a few days. I promised that you'd be safe, so I have a very good friend that's going to watch over you while I'm gone." The Major spoke very gently, being careful not to spook the girl, whom she'd already noticed grew agitated without her present. "His name is Batou."

"Ba... tou?" Stella slowly said the new name, blinking a few times as she did so.

"That's me!" A male voice suddenly spoke up, causing Stella to suddenly scream in terror.

"Aw, shit... I didn't mean to do that!" The very tall man leaned around the doorway, he'd been standing outside the whole time, keeping quiet.

"You could've announced your presence beforehand..." The Major reminded him, but he rubbed his neck apologetically. "Are you alright, Stella?" She turned to the frightened girl, who was just beginning to recover from her scare.

"Batou." She seemed to now be putting the name to his face, staring at him very intensely.

"Look, I really didn't mean to scare you like that. I'm sorry!" He took a step closer, holding up his hands, but the Major suddenly threw threw out her other hand to stop him. She already saw the signs, so she knew that the only person that Stella seemed to allow in her personal space was herself. This was going to be a long and difficult road to recovery for her.

"It'll just be a few days, okay?" The Major reminded Stella. "Then I'll come right back."

Stella slowly processed the information, then with as much confidence as she could muster, she asked. "Promise?"

"I promise." The Major took Stella's organic hand into both of her own, and nodded twice.

* * *

The next day, about mid-afternoon, Batou and Stella were sitting together in the hospital room. Stella was still examining her cyber-arm, awestruck by the design that so closely mimicked her own.

Batou, was likewise examining his right arm, which the Major had explained to Stella was a hidden weapon, nicknamed the Arm Launcher. The first time Batou had activated it and the limb split open, Stella clutched her metal arm as reassurance that it was still in place.

But now, Batou was just examining it to pass the time. Given the circumstances, he only had his standard issued Serburo M5 9mm pistol, tucked away under his left arm. So his Arm Launcher's inner mechanics and detailing was a welcome reprieve from the silence of the hospital room.

"Batou."

He suddenly looked up, realizing that Stella was staring at him.

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked, curious about what she wanted.

"Where... is HQ?"

"You mean Section 9's HQ? About half an hour drive from here." Batou explained. "Not very far."

"Is Major there?" Stella continued, gripping her organic arm's bicep with her metal hand.

"Yeah, she's there. Do you want to talk to her?" Batou smiled the instant the girl perked up. He slowly reached into his pocket with his left hand and produced his cell phone, calling the Major and handing the device over to her.

She carefully took the device and imitated his actions, holding it near her ear as she heard the Major's voice coming from the device.

"Hello, Stella. How are you feeling today? Is everything alright?"

"I have... a question." Stella slowly spoke into the device, still unaccustomed to using the phone.

"What is it?" The Major asked, clearly curious.

"Can I... um..." Stella tried to expand her vocabulary internally before saying. "Can I have... another arm?"

"Do you mean replacing your left arm with another cybernetic one?" The Major asked, trying to confirm what Stella was asking.

"Yes... like my new arm..."

Batou was quick to follow the one-sided conversation, and inwardly smiled. So the girl wanted another cyber-arm, huh?

"Can you hand the phone back to Batou for a moment, Stella?" The Major asked, so Stella held out the device, which he took and brought it up to his ear after reverting his Arm Launcher back to the stored form.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked. "Well, yeah... Okay... The same design, I think... Okay... Okay... I'll ask, then call you back right away. Okay, bye."

Batou hung up, sliding the phone back into his pocket before turning his cybernetic eyes towards Stella, who was looking hopeful.

"Major said that it'll add another two days if you do this. Are you sure you want to replace your left arm?" Batou asked, resting his forearms on his knees.

Stella had already made her decision. She nodded with as much confidence as she possessed. "Yes... I want... a new arm."

* * *

 **A/N: New story, in a slightly new style, so bear with me as we go along on this wonderful adventure through the web I weave. Unlike with my other story, Silence, this story is going to be uploaded without a rigid schedule.**


	2. Chapter 2

When Stella awoke after her surgery, she was rather pleased to find the Major waiting for her at the end of her bed.

"How's the new arm?" The Major asked, her gaze lingering on Stella's face for a moment before indicating the new cyber-arm.

Stella smiled slightly as she gave her new arm a satisfied expression. It perfectly matched her other arm now, and the same goes for her legs too. She was complete... sort of.

"Now, once the paperwork's dealt with, we can bring you to HQ, sound good?" The Major smiled in return. "But first, I wanted to ask you... Have you been eating properly?"

Stella couldn't help but avert her gaze. She'd been eating, yeah... but the food...

"I um..." Stella's cheeks turned pink.

"I know." The Major laughed, a light hearted chuckle. "The food's terrible. I'll be right back, I'll see if I can convince your doctor to let you be discharged so we can get some better food."

With that, the Major stood up and left the room, returning after a few minutes with her doctor at her side. After a final conversation about her health and her cybernetics, Stella was finally discharged. She'd quickly gotten herself dressed in a simple outfit that the Major brought with her, and they were outside... For the first time she could remember.

"So, Stella... Do you have a favourite food?" The Major asked as they approached her burgundy car. Stella shook her head, since she couldn't really recall anything she ate. Her memories were less than pleasant beyond the past week. "Is there anything you'd like to try, in that case?"

"You... choose." Stella couldn't make up her mind, so she let the Major take the lead this time, hesitating as the Major opened the car door for her and gestured for her to get in.

"Okay... I think I have an idea." The Major smiled as Stella got over her anxiety and sat in the passenger seat of the vehicle, idly fidgeting with her cybernetic fingers with her head slightly down.

Several minutes later, the Major glanced over at the timid girl beside her. "So Stella, can I ask you a few things?"

"S-Sure..." Stella looked up to woman beside her, noticing that she had some small out-of-place objects attached to the back of her neck that weren't there before. They connected her neck to the headrest of the seat.

"Let's start with your age... Do you know how old you are?" The Major asked, starting with a - hopefully - easy question.

"No..." Stella shook her head.

"Okay, how about your nationality? Do you know that?" The Major asked, covertly sending the audio of their conversation to Chief Aramaki through an encrypted data channel.

"Japan... I'm from Japan." Stella managed to mumble her response after a long pause.

"Well, that's a good start! Now, last question... Is 'Stella' your real name?" The Major had seen the star shaped birthmark, and after a quick search, revealed that the name Stella was simply the Italian word for Star, so the name she had was not her real name, but one given to her from simple observation and language knowledge.

"I don't know..." Stella replied. "I'm just... Stella."

[Did you catch all of that, Chief?] The Major asked over the encrypted data channel.

[Loud and clear, Major. I'll have Ishikawa begin her profile so we can start the case. In the meantime, where are you taking her?] Arimaki couldn't help but notice that the Major wasn't taking her directly to Section 9's HQ.

[The hospital food's disgusting, even for a cyborg like me. We're just going out for some lunch, then we'll head right to HQ.] The Major replied, changing lanes as she ended the transmission. "So, Stella, do you mind me asking you a different question? You don't have to answer if you don't want me to know."

"Okay..."

The Major took a moment to word her question, then asked. "Did Batou scare you?"

Stella gulped as she recalled the big cyborg's sudden appearance that caused her to scream in panic. "A little..."

"Does he scare you as a person, or because of what he did when introducing himself?" The Major asked, glancing at Stella to gauge her reactions so far.

"B-Both." Stella stammered, but then added. "And Ch-Chief Aramaki too..."

The Major gave a nod of understanding, catching onto a trend. Stella was scared of men, which was more than reasonable, given the amount of trauma she underwent.

* * *

Stella clung to the Major's arm the whole time they walked to the restaurant, her expression of anxious fear partially hidden by her long black hair. It was a strange wonder that her hair was so well taken care of compared to the rest of her. It was long, healthy and glossy.

"We're here." The Major announced to Stella, who looked up to see a simple restaurant that seemed to sell noodles. "C'mon."

She lead Stella inside, and they sat at a table in the back, a decent distance from the nearest group of patrons.

Stella, of course, was extremely self conscious, so she was looking down at her hands as the Major sat across from her.

A few moments later, a server came over to them with menus and bowed before leaving them to decide their orders. The Major already had her chosen dish in mind, and was going to help Stella, if she needed it.

"I'm having pad thai noodles, what do you want to try?" The Major glanced around the restaurant, making sure that Stella's anxiety wasn't triggered by any approaching men. Thankfully their server was female.

"I... um..." Stella awkwardly glanced around for a few seconds, then said. "I'll try... that."

"Alright, sounds good. Nice and simple." The Major smiled, then when the waitress returned, she simply said. "Two orders of pad thai noodles."

"And to drink, ma'am?" The waitress queried as she took the menus back.

"Pineapple juice, please. Stella?" The Major turned to the girl, who nodded silently, to signify she also wanted to try the beverage. "Same."

"Of course, two orders of pad thai noodles, and two pineapple juices. Coming right up!" Th waitress bowed as she left, heading for the kitchen to relay the orders.

"Thank you..." Stella mumbled, still looking down into her lap.

"Tastes way better than the hospital food, that's for sure." The Major smiled. "After we eat, we're going to go to HQ, okay?"

"Okay!" Stella seemed pleased by the idea, so she finally looked up and smiled slightly.

Once their noodles arrived, Stella blinked slightly, taken aback by the steaming noodles before her. They smelled amazing, and looked just as good.

Tentatively, almost hesitantly, she extended a finger to poke the food, but the Major held something long and thin out to her, and she looked up to see her smiling.

"Try these, the noodles are still a bit hot right now." She smiled, watching as Stella took the two thin sticks she wasn't able to recognize and held them in her grasp, blinking in confusion. "They're called chopsticks, you use them to pick up the noodles." She demonstrated by first gripping the chopsticks in her right hand, tapping the ends together to demonstrate how to use them.

Stella stared intently at the Major's hand, putting the method into her memory as she slowly imitated the technique, having some difficulty for a moment until she figured it out, and tapped the ends together, like the Major did.

The Major, of course, was watching her the whole time, finding her naive nature rather adorable. She was a cute girl, for sure, and the little things like this made her company even more enjoyable.

"Now just take a bit of noodles, and start eating." The Major pinched the chopsticks around a small amount of noodles, and lifted them from the plate, which Stella quickly attempted, but lost her noodles twice before they stayed on the chopsticks.

Since they were now eating, they fell silent. But, the whole time, the Major was keeping a close eye on their surroundings, to make sure she wasn't spooked by anything or anyone... Not that she seemed to care, at the moment. She seemed to be too busy enjoying her noodles to care.

A few minutes later, the Major was about to take a sip of her drink when someone nearby accidentally dropped their glass, which shattered the instant it hit the floor. She immediately glanced at Stella, only to find the girl hadn't reacted at all. She was still enjoying her food, as if the rest of the world didn't exist right now.

The Major smiled, shaking her head very slightly.

* * *

After they'd finished their meal, the Major quickly paid for the food and they were back in the car. Stella was in much better spirits, it seemed, now that she'd had a decently good tasting meal. She was actually looking up instead of at her hands or feet for once.

And she couldn't take her eyes off the city's skyline.

It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. The different buildings dominated the sky, and here and there, aircraft could be seen in the background. Could HQ be one of those buildings?

"We should be there in about fifteen minutes, Stella." The Major suddenly announced, smiling at her rapt attention out the window of the car. She could see Stella's expression of utter awe in the reflection of the glass, which made her smile widen.

 _So cute_... She thought to herself, taking the turn that would lead almost directly into Section 9's HQ.


	3. Chapter 3

Arriving at Section 9's HQ, the Major and Stella walked through the underground parking lot, which seemed to be off putting for Stella, given that she'd been confined underground for years.

"It's okay, this place has a lot of cameras and sensors, there's no need to be so worried, Stella." The Major reassured her, and after a glance towards the nearest exit door, she nodded and continued to follow the Major towards an elevator.

If she'd been alone or with any sort of men, the mere thought of entering such a small space would've made her nearly collapse, but being with the Major made her push aside those fears, standing with her hands clasped behind her back and sneaking glances at the tall woman.

Sure, she was pretty. Her purple hair and red eyes, lovely skin, and toned body. Stella really liked how confident that the Major was, her presense alone helped to put her at ease...

Stella blinked when she realized that, not only was she drooling slightly, but they'd reached their destination floor. She quickly wiped her mouth with her hand and followed the Major, who actually noticed her actions.

"Thinking about the noodles? They tasted that good, huh?" She smiled, which made Stella's cheeks turn pink as she nodded, going along with it instead of revealing the truth about her fantasizing.

Walking through the corridors, the Major lead Stella past several identical women wearing crisp red uniforms. She gently tugged on the sleeve of the Major's leather jacket to get her attention.

"Is something wrong?" The Major stopped walking and turned to her curiously.

"Why do they all look the same?" Stella indicated the latest woman to pass them, and the Major smiled.

"They're all robots... Androids that assist us here at Section 9." She explained, and Stella gave a nod of understanding. "C'mon, we're almost there."

After going through a few more doors and turns, the Major knocked twice on the last wooden door, and the sound of Chief Aramaki's voice came from inside. "Enter."

The Major gently put her hand onto Stella's shoulder as they stepped through the door, coming face to face with the entirety of Section 9.

Batou, of course, was present, as well as Chief Aramaki seated behind a desk. Everyone else - all men - were unfamiliar to Stella. She instantly clutched the Major's jacket and hid behind her back, trying to make herself as small as possible.

"So this is Stella-chan..." One of them, with a black eyepatch and his shirt partially opened spoke up as they entered. "I'm Saito."

Stella tried to hide herself even more, but Batou laughed slightly and smiled.

"Stella-chan... I like that, haha!" He turned towards her, directing his cyber-eyes to her hidden presense.

"Now, now... There's no need for that." The Major spoke up, but she was cut off by Stella's quiet voice from behind her.

"I... Don't mind."

"Well, alright then..." The Major didn't quite agree with it, but since Stella consented, she couldn't argue anymore. "So, shall we begin?"

"Very well, Major, Stella, could you please come in and close the door." Aramaki rested his elbows on the edge of his desk as an auburn haired man stood up and walked to a screen as the Major accompanied her to sit in the only armchair, standing at her size as she shrank into the chair.

"Now, Stella, welcome to Section 9. We're a division of Public Security, we specialize in cyber-crimes. Considering that until your rescue and surgery you had no prosthetic implants nor cybernetics, you're a rather unusual case..." Aramaki explained, which caused Stella to look down in shame. "But, since you were held in unlawful captivity, the Major personally wanted to bring this case into consideration. As such, we've agreed to keep you here, where you'll be safe while we conduct our investigation into your captivity and your identity. For now, we'll leave you in the Major's personal care, alright?"

Stella looked up at his words, her expression hopeful.

"Well, on that note, let's go over the profile we've managed to create for her." The auburn haired man spoke up from the screen, which brought up a picture of Stella's face alongside the very limited intel they possessed.

"As you can see, Stella-chan, we don't have much to go on to find out your real identity. But that doesn't mean we won't do our best." Batou smiled at her from his seat at the couch. "Is there anything here that is wrong, or you can add?"

Stella slowly read the incomplete profile, unable to find anything else that was missing or incorrect from their gathered intel. Until she reached the end of the report, which had a section for cyberizations, but was labeled 'none' instead of announcing her new limbs.

"What about... my c-cybernetics?" She asked quietly, but the Major was the one to answer.

"We gave those to you to save your life. They're not included in your profile because we found you without them to begin with. So, to make our investigation easier on everyone, we're going ahead without your arms and legs being taken into consideration."

"Oh... Okay." Stella nodded in understanding. They had to use old information, basically.

"There's another matter, Stella... Nothing to worry about, but still worth telling you." Aramaki leaned forward very slightly. "Should you ever remember anything that we could use in your case, don't hesitate to tell any one of us, okay?"

"Okay..." Stella nodded, fidgeting with her fingers slightly.

"Now then, Ishikawa, I want you and Borma to head back to the building where she as kept, try to glean anything you can from their data storage about her. Any records you can find." Aramaki gave the order with a nod to the only man with facial hair. "Batou, you and the Major give Stella a tour, help her get to know the place. Paz and Saito, finish up with your current assignments, then you're free for now."

Everyone gave a chorus of acknowledgements, and Stella remained rooted in her seat as the other four men left the room. Batou and the Major waited until she stood up on her own and escorted her out of the office.

Their tour was rather simple, they showed her the administrative wing, the command center, training rooms for a variety of scenarios, the firing range, and last on their tour was the only room that seemed to spark some sort of response in the girl.

"And this is where we keep our Tachikoma's. They've been waiting to meet you, Stella." The Major gestured for Stella to follow her and Batou inside, where she could see a few technicians walking about from where she was standing.

"Tachi... Koma's?" Stella had a slightly worried expression on her face as she slowly started to follow the Major, only to hear a chorus of incredibly enthusiastic soprano voices coming from inside.

"Is that Stella-chan?!" "I think I heard her! Is she there?!" "Does anyone see her yet?" "Wait, is that Mr. Batou and the Major?!"

Stella followed close behind the Major, not sure of what to expect regarding the Tachikoma's. The moment she came into the large circular room, her eyes widened in surprised wonder.

" _Spiders_."

The Major and Batou turned to stare at her, both with amused expressions. Sure, Stella wasn't much of a talker, but her rather simplistic description of the Tachikoma's was enough to crack a smile at.

"There she is!" The soprano voice of the nearest Tachikoma exclaimed excitedly, and all of a sudden, the trio were surrounded by the large blue arachnid robots, causing Stella to hide behind the Major, yet again.

"Now, now, back up! Too close! Stella-chan's had a rough week, give her some space!" Batou immediately ordered the Tachikoma's to move away from the terrified girl.

With sounds of disappointment, the Tachikoma's backed away, which allowed Stella to slowly peer out from the safety of the Major's back.

Each Tachikoma had four legs, which ended in small wheels. They also had two arms, each tipped by three pronged claws. In between those arms were short cylinders that Stella didn't recognize the function of. In their midsections were three spheres that had a small triangle of dots, which seemed to act like the Tachikoma's eyes, spinning and looking around... or at her.

Finally, their back ends were large vaguely cylindrical shapes, roughly big enough for someone like Batou or that other big guy to sit inside. Stella looked at the nearest Tachikoma and back to the Major, clearly curious, but equally scared.

"Don't worry, they don't bite." The Major laughed as she slowly lead Stella a bit closer while using a data channel to the Tachikoma in question. [Don't spook her, she's scared. I want you to stay calm, let her get used to you first, okay?]

[Yes, Major!] The Tachikoma replied right away, remaining extremely calm and still as the Major stopped assisting Stella, leaving her to make the final steps towards the robotic spiders.

Of course, the moment she felt the Major's hand leave her back, she stopped, hesitating for several seconds before she took a steadying breath and slowly approached the Tachikoma, extending one hand to touch the cylinder between the arms.

"Tachikoma." Like when she was in the hospital room, she said the name of the robot before her as if devoting the name to memory. "They're all... the same?" She asked the question to the Major, looking over her shoulder as she did so. She liked them, and thought they were kinda cute and funny.

"That's right. What you're holding right now is their main cannon." The Major laughed as Stella suddenly pulled her hand away from the short barrel. "Don't worry, they're not loaded right now. I promised you'd be safe here, remember?"

"Don't worry, Stella-chan! We'll protect you!" "You can count on us!" "You'll be safe with us on duty!" The other Tachikoma's chorused their encouraging words, and Stella's face slowly broke into a small smile.

" _Safe_..." She whispered, almost to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

The Major and Stella remained together for the rest of the afternoon. Stella of course was still getting used to her new surroundings, aided at times by the Major and sometimes one of the androids. Inwardly, she felt safe, especially when the Major was with her, but outwardly, she kept her feelings and most of her thoughts to herself. She didn't want to feel judged for anything she might say that may seem bad or wrong.

Her reverie was suddenly broken when the Major's hand tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to gasp and look up.

"Sorry about that, I was just wondering if you were hungry? We could go get something to eat, if you'd like. I'm afraid the only food we have here right now is cyborg food for Borma and Batou." She spoke gently, which helped Stella relax after being startled. "Tell you what, I have an idea. Want to hear it?"

"Okay... What is it?" Stella's interest was piqued, of course, so she perked up to listen.

"How about I take you to a new restaurant every day, and you tell me which ones are your favourite? Sound like a good idea?" The Major knew right away that the prospect of new foods would get her attention, but the suddenly sunshine bright smile on Stella's face was a welcome surprise. "Then let's get going!"

With that, Stella was on her feet and hot on the Major's heels, following her to the elevator and down to the underground parking lot. Of course, she still had her moment of hesitation, but she quickly got over it and climbed into the Major's car.

"So... we had pad thai noodles last time, how about we try..." The Major thought carefully, thinking of something reasonably healthy but not unappetizing. Stella was still recovering from her malnutrition. "Ah, well, since you're Japanese, why don't we try sushi?"

"I remember that!" Stella looked at the Major excitedly, her face full of pride. "I like sushi!"

"Then let's get going!" The Major chalked this one up to dumb luck, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

* * *

After their dinner, the Major and Stella returned to Section 9's HQ, both with full stomachs and satisfied smiles on their faces. When they entered the elevator, Stella glanced a few times up at the Major before saying. "Thank you..."

"Not a problem, a girl's got to eat, right?" The Major smiled, knowing that her doctor had indeed ordered she have three full meals every day for at least the next two weeks.

Stella nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. So far, she really liked the pad thai noodles, since she probably ate sushi at least somewhat regularly before being captured.

The elevator opened, revealing Ishikawa and Borma, clearly having returned from their task.

"Major, we didn't find much, but we did find a hidden video file that documented a meeting involving her as a 'product'. We're currently consulting records and police databases to identify the people involved in the meeting." Ishikawa explained the moment he saw the Major and Stella in the elevator. "Given that her last captor was involved with organized crime, we're going to go ahead based on that angle."

"Good work, keep me updated with what you find." The Major nodded, then lead Stella out of the elevator and past the two men, only to find that Stella had stopped, facing them, clearly steeling herself to ask them something.

"Did... I have my arms and l-legs?" She clearly wanted to know about the video they'd seen, her face very serious.

"Yeah, you weren't butchered." Ishikawa nodded. "Your hair was a lot shorter though, it barely reached your shoulders."

Stella clutched at her long black hair, clearly attempting to bring up the memory of the events. After several seconds, she gritted her teeth and said. "I can't... remember."

"That's alright, it's still early in the investigation." The Major reassured her. "For now, let's get you back on your feet, okay?"

"But I am on my feet..." Stella lifted her foot and appeared to be slightly confused by the Major's comment.

All three of them laughed slightly at her sharp wit, and the Major explained. "It's a saying. It means we still need to help you get better."

"Get... Better..." Stella's brow furrowed, and her breathing seemed to be picking up. "Get better..."

"Stella?" The Major lowered herself slightly to lok her in the eye. "Are you alright?"

"I... Remember someone telling me... 'Get better' a lot... But... not like this." Stella was clearly struggling to find the right words. "They said it... different."

"Hmm... That's something." The Major hummed in thought for a moment. "Maybe some sort of competition? 'Get better' could imply furthering one's self in a certain field."

"I don't remember..." Stella seemed to be defeated by her own memory. "Why can't I remember anything?!" She suddenly spoke up, clenching her cybernetic hands into fists, her tone surprisingly forceful, almost angry. "What did they do to me?!"

"Hey, shhh, it's okay! What you've given us just gave me an idea. C'mon, the Chief might need to hear about it." The Major gently put her hands onto Stella's shoulders, staring her directly in the eye.

Stella took a moment to calm herself down, then nodded as she followed the Major to the Chief's office, once again the small and timid girl, acting as if her outburst had never occurred.

[Borma, Ishikawa, continue with your current angle. See if you can identify the people in the video, report to me as soon as you find something.] The Major relayed to the two men, who chorused their acknowledgements over the data channel.

Once they reached the Chief's office, the Major knocked and was called inside. They entered and found the Chief waiting with a curious expression.

"Ah, Major, Stella. How can I help you?" Aramaki asked, putting down his pen and clasping his fingers together.

"Stella managed to remember a small detail, it seems she was in some sort of organized competitions before her captivity. The phrase 'get better' was a sort of trigger to bring up the memory." The Major explained, allowing Stella to sit down in the armchair as she remained standing herself. "Considering this, I'm thinking that she was in a sports related field."

Stella perked up at the Major's explanation. She was remembering something, but it wasn't quite there yet... Something about sports...

Aramaki noticed Stella's reaction and hummed in thought. "So, that is something we can work with for her identity portion of the case, how goes the captivity side of things?"

"Ishikawa and Borma found a video detailing her being offered as some sort of product. They're analyzing the people in the video right now. We think it has a connection to organized crime." The Major explained. "Possibly slave trafficking and prostitution."

"I see." Aramaki closed his eyes for a moment, clearly thinking about something. "Alright, for now, let's continue with what we've got. Stella, thank you this small detail, sometimes the smallest thing is enough."

Stella nodded, unsure of what else to say.

"So, I had an idea when she said this." The Major explained. "Well, more of an observation."

"Go on, Major." Aramaki was clearly curious.

"Well, to put it simply, for the sake of her health, and her well being, why don't we organize an exercise regime, to help her organics keep up with her cybernetics?" The Major suggested, putting her hands onto her hips.

It was at this comment that sparked Stella's memory. She looked right at Aramaki and said. "Martial arts."

"Martial arts, you say?" Aramaki stared at her with keen interest.

"I did... Martial arts... the 'get better' thing... That was it. I um... can't remember who said it." Stella explained.

"So, in that case, do you think you'd still have the muscle memory of your training? It's help you recover from your malnutrition to exercise. You don't have to do it if you don't want to, it's just a suggestion." The Major explained, surprised to see that Stella nodded almost immediately.

"I think I remember how to do it." Stella nodded. "I don't really mind doing exercise to get better."

Both the Chief and the Major knew she meant 'get better' in a medical related context, so Aramaki picked up his desk phone and called her doctor that had been in charge of her recovery.

After about fifteen minutes of talking, Aramaki hung up the phone and explained the rather simple regime to Stella, who nodded in understanding.

"He said to increase each exercise as you get stronger, but not overexert yourself, obviously. For now, a set of twenty for each type should suffice."

"Okay... How many times do I do it a day?" Stella seemed rather disappointed by the amount she'd be doing.

"One workout per day, he said." Aramaki explained. "You're not doing competitive martial arts anymore, so it's not meant to be straining on you."

"Okay... I'll do today's right away." Stella suddenly stood up and walked to the door. "I'll do it with the Tachikoma's... I like them... They're funny."

The Major seemed satisfied by her strong drive to improve her health, which was likely a residual effect from her training for competitions.

"Do you think it's wise to let her exercise with the Tachikoma's as her encouragement?" The Major asked Aramaki, who leaned back in his chair with a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I can see that she's got a lot of drive. She wants to recover, so she's doing everything within her power to achieve that goal. I'm sure the Tachikoma's are an excellent idea, they'd boost her self-esteem and her confidence. I daresay it's quite an inconvenience for her to constantly be hiding behind you."

"I don't mind at all." The Major replied with a smile as she left the office with a wave.


	5. Chapter 5

"You can do it!" "Stella-chan! Keep going!" "She's amazing! I wonder if Mr. Batou could keep up with her?"

All around her, Stella could hear the Tachikoma's cheering her on as she did push-ups. Her regime said to only do twenty, but after doing the recommended amount, she felt that it wasn't enough, so she kept going...

She was now into the 400's.

"How's it coming along, Stella?" The sound of the Major's voice called into the Tachikoma hangar, but she didn't stop her workout.

"Major! Stella-chan's completed over four hundred and twenty six push-ups!" One of the Tachikoma's announced to the Major as she entered to see Stella almost effortlessly doing push-ups.

"Stella, your doctor said to only do twenty..." The Major reminded her, but realized the mutual mistake.

Her cybernetic limbs were reducing the physical strain of the workout.

"I didn't feel anything from doing twenty." Stella explained, not even a hint of strain in her voice as she continued to do the push-ups while one of the Tachikoma's kept count. She'd almost reached 450 and was still going strong.

"Well... alright then, but stop at 500, then start doing your sit-ups, alright?" The Major stood and watched, rather intrigued by Stella's drive. She really wanted to do this workout.

Stella said nothing as she finished off her 500 push-ups, quickly rolling onto her back and crossing her ankles while she grasped the back of her head with both hands.

As she began the sit-up portion of her regime, the same Tachikoma kept count, and the Major's eyes narrowed. This was entirely subject to her organic body, so there was little chance of her being able to achieve the same results without her cybernetics to assist her.

Stella quickly achieved the twenty sit-ups, but was so focused that she lost count herself and tuned out the Tachikoma that was counting for her. In no time flat, she had crested fifty sit-ups and only now was she starting to break a sweat.

"Okay, in that case, stop at 100 this time, okay?" The Major's voice managed to breakthrough to her as she reached the 80th sit-up. "Wow, I'm impressed, Stella. You're doing better than I expected."

Stella heard her words, and her cheeks turned slightly pink for a moment. It felt good to be complimented like that.

Finally, as she finished the final sit-up for the day, she just laid on her back for a moment, breathing hard and covered in a noticeable sheen of sweat. After a minute or two, the Major offered her hand to help her stand, smiling.

"Should I inform your doctor that you did this, or will it be our little secret?" She asked the tired girl, who smiled slightly.

"What he doesn't know... won't hurt him." Stella smiled sweetly in response to the promise to keep her new found capabilities a secret from her doctor.

"Alright, looks like you need a shower. C'mon, let's go." The Major lead her out of the hangar, letting her wave to the Tachikoma's as they left, much to the disappointment of the spider tanks.

* * *

After a short drive out of Section 9's HQ, the Major and Stella pulled into another underground parking lot, and she shut the engine off.

"Where are we?" Stella was worried about this unfamiliar location.

"This is my closest safehouse to HQ. We're only about a twenty minute walk from HQ, five by car." The Major explained, gesturing for Stella to get out of the car. "In fact, you can even see HQ from the bedroom window."

"Really?!" Stella was amazed that the safehouse was so close.

"Of course. In fact, this'll be where we'll stay when we're not at HQ or out to eat. Sound good?" The Major nodded as they entered the elevator. "Only one problem, and that's the fact it's on the top floor. So we have a long elevator ride."

"That's not really a big deal..." Stella couldn't help but point out the petty issue.

"You just did 500 push-ups and a hundred sit-ups. I'm pretty sure you'll be exhausted by the time we get up there." The Major smiled, as if she knew something but wasn't telling what it is.

"I've made it this far, haven't I?" Stella smiled slightly as the doors closed and the Major pressed the button for the top floor.

"We'll see when we get there, won't we?" The Major winked.

* * *

It turns out, the Major was right. By the time that the elevator ride ended, Stella was out of breath and rather dizzy.

"How... did you... know?" Stella panted, taking the Major's hand when she held it out to her.

"The adrenaline that your organic body produces was keeping you going. Now that it has dissipated, you're tired." The Major explained simply. "I'm sure your former trainer or sensei had you do some sort of cooldown exercises to prevent this from happening."

"Maybe..." Stella couldn't remember, so she allowed the Major to support her all the way to the bathroom for a shower.

"Do you need any help?" The Major asked. She'd seen Stella naked, so there shouldn't be any sort of embarrassment or shame issues. In fact, she highly doubted that Stella had _any_ sort of problem being seen naked.

"I um... yeah." Stella didn't know how to operate the shower, since her last master was more concerned with keeping her hair taken care of, rather than the rest of her. He'd usually just splash her with a bucket of cold water to clean her body. Even that wasn't very often.

The Major gave her a tutorial on how to operate the shower, then left the bathroom for her to clean herself up. Stella slowly removed the t-shirt and pants that the Major had given her back at the hospital, then hesitated for a split second. Were her cybernetics safe to use in water?

She thought about it for a moment, then recalled that her doctor did indeed mention that it was safe for them to get wet.

With that out of the way, she stepped in and immediately felt the hot water cascading down her back. Considering that she'd only really washed herself after being drenched with a bucket, this was heavenly. She let her head fall back, the water quickly soaking into her hair and scalp.

She didn't hear the Major return, nor did she notice that the Major was watching through the steam. She was enjoying the hot water too much to bother right now, and could already feel the tension in her back and shoulders vanishing with the water trailing down her legs.

After several luxurious moments, Stella suddenly felt a chill run up her spine, and her eyes opened. She hadn't really moved, still, she felt like something wasn't quite right.

Almost on instinct, Stella focused her ears over the sound of the water, and detected a faint humming in the bathroom, which she was certain hadn't been there when she entered with the Major.

Slowly reaching for a bottle of shampoo, she used that moment to glance through the condensation on the glass, and caught the faint silhouette of the Major through the glass.

She was invisible, just like when she saved her from her old owner.

"What are you doing, Major?" Stella asked over the sound of the water, acting as if she hadn't otherwise noticed her presence.

"I knew you'd figure it out." The Major laughed slightly as she shimmered back into sight. "It's called Therm-Optic camoflauge. It's what I used to sneak up on your former captor in the basement."

"You hum when you use it." Stella pointed out as she lathered some shampoo into her hair.

"It's meant to fool the eyes, not the ears." The Major smiled. "All of the Tachikoma's can do it too. It's standard issue for all of Section 9."

"I'd like to be able to do that..." Stella frowned slightly, referring to her habit of hiding behind the Major whenever she got scared.

"Sometimes it's better to face your fears head on." The Major explained. "No matter how scary things get, you'll get through it."

"I can't do that..." Stella sighed, this shampoo felt good on her hair.

"Not yet. Give it time, I'm sure you will eventually." The Major smirked knowingly. "Now, tomorrow, we're not going to HQ right away. I asked the Chief for permission to delay our arrival until the afternoon."

"Why?" Stella asked as she began to rinse the shampoo out of her hair.

"You still need clothes, obviously." The Major smiled. "I'm going to take you shopping."

"Oh..." Stella hesitated as she reached for the dial to shut off the water. She'd forgotten about that.

"But I can already tell you won't be wearing any dresses. From what we've gathered about your former identity - and witnessed for ourselves - you're a huge tomboy."

"Tomboy?" Stella had honestly never heard that term before. Despite her strange amnesia, she could never recall hearing the word before.

"A girl that's not interested in 'girly' things. Like dresses, make-up... dolls." The Major explained. "Tomboys are more involved in things like martial arts..." She gestured towards Stella for a moment. "Sports, and other masculine things."

"Are you a tomboy, Major?" Stella couldn't help but ask the question that was on her mind as she shut off the water, accepting the towel that the Major held out for her once she stepped out of the shower.

"I have my moments, yes... But I still like the occasional party dress and a bit of lipstick." The Major replied with a warm smile.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, the Major gently woke Stella up with a smile. The girl was asleep on her back, sprawled out with one arm over her head and an adorable expression on her face.

"Stella, how'd you sleep?" The Major asked as Stella slowly opened her eyes.

"On my back?" Stella was surprisingly witty at times. She used one arm to lift herself up, rubbing her eyes with her other.

"Shower's ready to go, when you're done, I have a spare set of clothes for you to wear while we go shopping, alright? It's nothing great, but at least it'll fit you." The Major smiled as Stella dutifully got out of bed and started to tidy up the bedding, only for the Major to gently stop her.

"I'll do that, you go get ready." She gestured for Stella to go ahead with her shower.

* * *

After she'd finished getting herself ready, Stella found the Major waiting for her near the elevator. Without further ado, they descended to the underground parking lot and drove away.

The Major was beginning to notice a few things about Stella. Firstly, she was beginning to speak in full sentences. She was also developing a rather sharp wit, and she seemed to no longer stare down at her hands or her feet. Not only that, she was certainly smiling a lot more.

Progress. She thought to herself as she changed lanes, glancing at Stella for a moment to see her staring at her right arm, as if thinking about something related to it.

"Something wrong with your arm, Stella?" The Major asked, clearly concerned.

"How does Batou fit his Arm Launcher into his arm?" The Major was quite surprised by Stella's question, so she took a moment to consider her response.

"Well, from what I know about the design, his forearm was designed to be hollow, and then the Launcher was designed using the dimensions of the empty space."

"Hmmm..." Stella hummed in thought. "Are my arms big enough to have something like that?"

"Why would you want something like that?" The Major was clearly curious, but at the same time, she was concerned that Stella wanted revenge for her captivity, so she had to tread carefully.

"I think it's cool." Stella replied, flexing her fingers as she imagined the arm opening up to reveal a hidden cannon.

"Definitely a tomboy..." The Major muttered to herself, shaking her head with a slight smile.

* * *

Stella was having some difficulty figuring out what clothes she should get. She didn't understand the purpose of all the different designs and colours. Why can't these things be simple?

It was after they'd eaten breakfast, they'd gone through two stores so far, but to no avail. Their current one was of decent size, attached to another store in a shared building.

"Do you have a favourite colour, Stella? We can start by choosing something with that." The Major suggested, noticing that Stella was slightly annoyed by the multiple displays.

After a moment of silence, Stella simply said. " _Black_."

"Well, in that case... Let's avoid this useless rainbow and find the black clothing." The Major gently lead her deeper into the store, and within twenty minutes, Stella was carefully carrying a small pile of clothes to the dressing rooms to try them on while the Major stood at her shoulder, an uneasy feeling nagging at the back of her mind. Something was off, she could feel it.

"So Stella, for the sake of how long it takes, how about we reduce your push-ups down to 100? Does that sound reasonable?" The Major asked, her fingers brushing under her leather jacket to confirm she had her Serburo M5 9mm on her. She did, so she lowered her hand as Stella replied through the door.

"Alright, but I think the Tachikoma's like the excitement too much. They probably won't like that."

"Well, that's a given. They really seem to like you, don't they?" The Major couldn't help but smile at the interactions between Stella and the Tachikoma's. Far too cute.

"I think they're funny." Stella replied, pulling on a pair of shorts and examining herself in the mirror. For some reason, she didn't really care about showing off her cybernetics. In fact, she liked the glossy metal limbs a lot. She turned her torso, continuing to examine herself over her shoulder.

"They have their moments, that's for sure." The Major replied. "So, how's the clothes? Do they fit?"

"Almost finished..." Stella called a bit louder, turning away from the mirror for a moment as she pulled a nice black tank top from the pile of clothes and pulled it over her head.

The moment she did, she was suddenly yanked backwards by several strong hands, letting out a startled sound that was muffled by a hand over her mouth as she landed on her back, hard.

" _MAJOR_!" She managed to scream through her captor's fingers, causing the Major to suddenly burst through the dressing room door as the men pulled the trick mirror closed before she could react.

"Shit, we'd better get this little brat outta here. Quick, bring the car. Gag her so that other bitch doesn't get another warning." One of the thugs quickly restrained Stella's wrists behind her back, only then realizing that her limbs were cybernetic.

"Shit man, this chick's a cyborg! No cyberbrain though!" He turned to the apparent leader after checking the back of her neck for some reason as the foul smelling rag was forced into her mouth and tied around her head. "What do we do?!"

"We hurry the fuck up!" He replied, pulling out a gun as the mirror's door shuddered from a heavy impact. "That bitch's trying to break her way through!"

Stella couldn't do anything as the thugs dragged her to her feet, one of the shoulder straps of her tank top hanging loosely from her shoulder as she was shoved down a passage.

They hadn't gone more than twenty feet when the door she'd been pulled through was sent crashing against the opposite side of the corridor, and a commanding voice called down the hall. "Public Security Section 9! Stop right where you are!"

Stella saw the shimmer in the air, and knew right away that the Major was using her Therm-Optic as she approached them, no doubt with her weapon in hand.

"Fuck, it's a cop! _RUN_!" They all immediately grabbed Stella and started running, but several loud bangs went off and they all fell to the ground, Stella rolling a few times before suddenly managing to get herself into a crouched position, still with her arms behind her back and the gag in her mouth.

One of them, the one with the gun, aimed it towards her, clearly trying to eliminate her entirely, but the next thing he knew, she'd hooked her ankle around his head and twisted his arm into a spectacular hold, only using her legs. Immediately he dropped the gun as the sound of his arm and neck straining reached their ears.

"That is a very impressive hold, Stella." The Major complimented her as she shimmered into sight. "Alright, let him go, I'll handle it from here. I called for backup already."

Stella had an uncharacteristic look of murder in her eyes, so as she stood up from the grapple, she suddenly kicked the man in the stomach, eliciting a grunt of pain from the man. Then she kicked again, and before she could do a third, the Major put her hands onto her shoulders and she came to her senses enough to look up at her in confusion, like she didn't even recognize the Major at all.

"Are you alright, Stella?" The Major asked as she untied the gag, only for Stella to start yelling at the downed men, her voice echoing in a slightly intimidating manner given her fury.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU ALL, YOU PIECES OF FUCKING SHIT! I DON'T NEED MY ARMS TO TEAR YOU ALL IN HALF!"

All of the wounded men attempted to scurry away from the livid girl, but had little success. It was only the valiant efforts of the handcuffs and the cop's grip on the girl that was saving them from imminent destruction.

"Stella, I need you to calm down!" The Major ordered, but with a hefty shoulder shove, Stella broke free and charged at the man she'd initially been attacking, only to suddenly slam onto the ground with a heavy weight on her back, unable to escape since her hands were already restrained. "I mean it, Stella... Relax." The Major whispered into her ear, trying not to hurt Stella, but at the same time making sure she couldn't escape. "It's alright, you don't need to worry. You're safe, I'm right here."

[Major, we're on scene. Approaching your location now.] Batou's voice spoke up in a data channel. [Is Stella-chan alright? Is she hurt?]

[Did you bring your Tachikoma?] The Major asked, keeping an eye on Stella until she finally calmed down.

[Two, actually.] Batou replied. [I figured you'd want one when you called for backup.]

[Alright, bring them around to the front of the store, make sure it's clear for Stella and me to leave in the Tachikoma's. You can use my car to return to HQ.] The Major explained as she carefully helped Stella rise to her knees and freed her from the handcuffs. "Stella, I'm having Batou deal with these guys. I need you to come with me, okay? We're heading back to HQ."

Now that she was back to her docile self, Stella had a rather haunted, dead look to her eyes as she almost numbly followed the Major's lead back through the corridor, passing Batou along the way, who had his own gun drawn.

[She doesn't look so good...] He commented to the Major, who had a grim expression on her face. [Do you mind sending over the data... later?]

[For now, I need to get her back to normal. Arrest those men for assault, illegal weapons possession, and attempted kidnapping of a minor. Bring them to Section 9... I'm going to deal with them. Personally.] The Major replied, helping Stella through the hole in the dressing room and gathering their pile of clothes into a bag. She was immediately greeted with the back pod of one of the Tachikoma's, already opened for her to carefully put Stella inside.

"Tachikoma, wait for me... I just have one thing to do first." The Major brought the bag of clothes to the counter, followed by the two blue spider tanks. The moment she reached the counter, the old lady behind the counter shook her head, holding up a wrinkled hand to stop her.

"On the house... for the girl." She explained, much to the relief of the Major. "My deepest apologies, deary... I had no idea."


	7. Chapter 7

The Major piloted the first Tachikoma, followed by the second one with Stella. For now, just to think of some sort of plan, she decided to bring Stella to one of her other safehouses, which coincidentally, had enough space for both Tachikoma's to come inside with her.

[Major, I think Stella-chan's back to her senses!] The other Tachikoma's voice came through a data channel, and right away the Major spun her Tachikoma around to see the waving spider tank. [She's figured out how to wave my claw!]

[Admittedly, those are easy controls. Alright, we're almost there. Come alongside me when I stop.] The Major replied. "Stella, can you hear me?" She spoke into the radio between Tachikoma's.

"Major, am I in a... Tachikoma?" By the sound of Stella's voice, she seemed to have just woken up, despite the fact she was awake the whole time.

"Yes, you are. Batou's bringing my car back to HQ, and I have your bag of clothes with me in this Tachikoma. Are you alright?" The Major asked. "Do you remember what happened?"

"They pulled me through the wall, but I don't remember anything after that..." Stella sighed. "Stupid amnesia..."

"Well, I wouldn't say that... It looks like you blacked out during an angry outburst." The Major explained. "You didn't even recognize me when I tried to stop you."

"I... did?" Stella was clearly shocked by the revelation.

"You even attacked one of them without using your arms at all. It was quite an impressive hold." The Major explained, driving her Tachikoma right up to her safehouse. "Okay, we're here. Tachikoma, let her out of your pod."

"Roger that, Major!" The Tachikoma announced, coming to a halt and allowing Stella to slowly climb out of the back, looking around at yet another new place. She quickly adjusted her tank top's hanging strap as the Major gently put her hand onto Stella's other shoulder.

"How many safehouses do you have?" Stella figured this was one of them, and the Major chuckled.

"Too many. C'mon, let's head inside for now, I want to show you what happened."

Once they were inside, accompanied by the two Tachikoma's, the Major carefully sat Stella down in a chair while she set up a device that Stella didn't recognize, but the Tachikoma's did.

"Ooooh, is the Major going to relay data from her cyberbrain into that external memory unit to show to Stella-chan?" One of them seemed excited by the idea.

"Oh, I think so! I wonder what she saw?"

While the two spider tanks bantered back and forth, Stella was watching the Major connect some cables to the back of her neck then plugged the other end into the memory unit. After several seconds, she removed the cables from her neck, but instead connected them to a strange headset-like device.

"This will show you everything I saw, starting from the moment you were pulled through the wall, all the way up to when I got into the Tachikoma to bring you here. All you have to do is watch it." The Major explained, finished with preparing the memory unit.

"How does it work?" Stella pointed at the headset thing.

"It plays a video of what I saw through this part." The Major pointed at a specific section. "And the speakers in here play the sound of what I heard. Think of it like watching a movie while wearing headphones."

The simple analogy made sense to Stella, so she accepted the headpiece and adjusted it with some assistance from the Major. Once it was in place, she gave a nod before lowering the viewer over her eyes.

Right away, she was placed into the Major's eyes, at the moment they had been still talking. The Major had been scanning the store when the sound of her yell made her spin around and shove the dressing room door open.

For a brief moment, she'd caught a glimpse of the captors before the trap door was sealed. The Major immediately pulled out something Stella didn't recognize from under her jacket and kicked the door.

Off to the side of the Major's view, a circular image appeared, showing Batou's face.

[I need immediate backup, Stella's being kidnapped by at least three men! Bring a Tachikoma! Sending my location to you now!] The Major's voice suddenly played over the sound of her attempts to break down the door, but didn't seem to be actually spoken.

[Got it, I'm on my way!] Batou's image replied, then vanished just as the Major broke through the door and activated her Therm-Optic camo.

The sound of the thugs reached her ears, coming from the left, so the Major immediately followed the sound and called out in her commanding voice. "Public Security Section 9! Stay right where you are!"

The men started to panic, dragging Stella away, but the Major seemed to focus onto their legs for a moment before a several small flashes went off just ahead of her view, and all of the men fell to the ground.

She clearly watched as Stella recovered from her fall, and quickly pinned one of them by the arm using only her legs. She approached, and her Therm-Optic camo deactivated as she said. "That's a very impressive hold, Stella. Alright, let him go, I'll handle it from here. I called for backup already."

After stopping her grapple, Stella started kicking the downed man, still handcuffed and gagged with a livid expression on her face. The Major then stopped her for a moment, noticing the confusion on Stella's face as she reached behind Stella's head and untied the gag, only for Stella to start yelling at the wounded men.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU ALL, YOU PIECES OF FUCKING SHIT! I DON'T NEED MY ARMS TO TEAR YOU ALL IN HALF!"

The Major spoke very clearly and sternly to Stella, "Stella, I need you to calm down!" but Stella shoved her shoulder into the Major, knocking her aside and sprinting towards the men, but the Major quickly tackled her from behind, holding her down by pressing her weight onto Stella's back. "I mean it, Stella... Relax." She leaned close to whisper into Stella's ear. "It's alright, you don't need to worry. You're safe, I'm right here."

After several seconds of continued squirming, Batou appeared off to the side again. [Major, we're on scene. Approaching your location now. Is Stella-chan alright? Is she hurt?]

[Did you bring your Tachikoma?] The Major asked, keeping an eye on Stella until she finally calmed down.

[Two, actually.] Batou replied. [I figured you'd want one when you called for backup.]

[Alright, bring them around to the front of the store, make sure it's clear for Stella and me to leave in the Tachikoma's. You can use my car to return to HQ.] The Major explained as she carefully helped Stella rise to her knees and freed her from the handcuffs. "Stella, I'm having Batou deal with these guys. I need you to come with me, okay? We're heading back to HQ."

Stella didn't reply. A closer look revealed that she seemed to be in a sort of trance, her eyes dull and her movements almost catatonic. The Major clearly helped support her as they returned to the area with the trapped door, passing Batou, who once again appeared to the side of her perspective.

[She doesn't look so good... Do you mind sending over the data... later?] He asked over the link.

[For now, I need to get her back to normal. Arrest those men for assault, illegal weapons possession, and attempted kidnapping of a minor. Bring them to Section 9... I'm going to deal with them. Personally.] The Major replied, helping Stella through the hole in the dressing room and gathering their pile of clothes into a bag. She was quickly greeted by the back of a waiting Tachikoma, which opened the rear hatch and allowed for the Major to carefully put Stella inside.

After glancing at the bag of clothes, the Major suddenly spoke to the Tachikoma. "Tachikoma, wait here for me... I just have one thing to do first." She picked up the bag by the carrying strings and walked towards the cashier, an old woman, who immediately held up one of her hands to stop the Major, shaking her head.

"On the house... for the girl. My deepest apologies, deary... I had no idea."

The Major nodded, then gestured for the other Tachikoma to let her inside to leave.

With that, Stella knew the memory playback was over, so she removed the headpiece and turned towards the up-to-date Major, sitting on the armrest of the chair.

"They tried to... take me?" Stella asked, clearly scared of the possible outcomes had the Major not been there.

"From my experience, and what I saw, it looks like they're just street thugs with a little bit of brains. They used a service corridor to try to kidnap you through a hidden door behind the dressing room's mirror. Until I interrogate them back at HQ, I can't really say what they were planning to do if they succeeded in taking you."

"What was that thing with Batou's picture, over here." Stella gestured towards her left peripheral, where she'd seen Batou popping in and out of the Major's vision.

"That's a data channel. We at Section 9 use it to send each other data in real time. Batou arrived so quickly because not only were we really close to HQ, but he knew my exact location the moment I called for him to help." The Major explained. "Even the Tachikoma's can do that too."

"That's cool... Can I do that?" Stella asked, clearly enraptured by the idea of cybernetics in general, given her past comment about Batou's Arm Launcher and wondering if her own arms were capable of concealing something like it.

"You'd need to have a surgery on your brain first, but if you do, then it'd only take a few weeks to learn how to do it. Only problem is that you need to be an adult, since the surgery can't be done unless your brain has finished developing."

"When does that happen?" Stella asked, clearly curious.

"Well, according to international law, this surgery cannot be legally performed unless the person receiving it is over the age of eighteen. And until we figure out your age, Stella, I can't really go much further into the topic. Sorry."

"That's alright, I just think it's cool that you can talk to each other without being nearby. It must really help you do your job with Section 9, right?" Stella smiled, and the Tachikoma's gave sounds of acknowledgement for her words.

"Yes, it certainly does." The Major laughed slightly, smiling at Stella.


	8. Chapter 8

After a hearty lunch at a multi-national restaurant, Stella and the Major returned to Section 9 HQ in the two Tachikoma's, taking the elevator all the way up while the Tachikoma's returned separately via a freight elevator.

Upon arrival, they were met by Ishikawa and Borma, who seemed to be looking for them.

"Ah, there you are. We managed to identify the individuals in that video, and Batou just arrived with those men that tried to take Stella. Chief's called for a meeting to gather our current findings." Ishikawa explained after catching sight of the two women.

"Alright, let's go talk to the Chief." The Major turned to Stella, who nodded with a glint of determination in her eyes.

The two pairs walked into Aramaki's office within a few minutes, each taking a seat while the auburn haired man stood at the ready near the screen. Batou was already present, leaning against the wall beside the door.

"First, I'd like to say well done on your swift actions to rescue Stella, Major. Excellent work." Aramaki nodded towards the Major, who simply smiled. "Second, Ishikawa and Borma, you two as well. Now, let's begin... Togusa."

"Right." The auburn haired man nodded as the screen displayed what appeared to be a security camera view of a meeting between three adults. Kneeling beside one of them was clearly a slightly younger Stella, a ballgag shoved into her mouth, wearing a corset and stockings with matching panties and a chained collar around her neck, which was grasped in the hand of the only woman of the adults. "This is the video we discovered from Stella's previous captor's residence. It's rather long, and most of the dialogue was deemed unrelated to the case - socialization, really - but it's near the end that becomes relevent. Here's that particular segment."

Togusa played the remainder of the footage, stepping back to give a clear view.

"Say, darlin', that little plaything's might fine. How much did you get her for?"

"Oh, this little thing? I've had her for ages!" The woman roughly yanked on the chain around Stella's neck, laughing as Stella's eyes widened in shock, whimpering through the ballgag.

"Slaves like that must go for a fortune! No even a single piece of metal in that body, huh? How old is she?" The same man spoke up while the other smoked a cigar quietly, not talking at all.

"Well, I picked her up oh what was it..." The woman paused to think for a moment. "Oh, six years ago? Some small-time pimp was using her to draw in all the pedophile customers, and after I... hmmm... _persuaded_ him, I took her for myself as a personal slave. She was... what, twelve, slave?" The woman turned to Stella, who immediately nodded. "Been my personal toy ever since."

"Are you willing to part with her... For a price?" The man leaned forward, keenly interested.

"A purely organic fucktoy like her doesn't go cheap... How much are we talking, Franz?" The woman pointedly wrapped Stella's chain around her knuckles.

"Well, in that case, how about... double our usual rate?" The man held up two fingers, only for the woman to immediately counter with a stern and commanding tone.

" _Triple_."

"I can do two and a half, that's my best offer." The man held up both hands. "Take it or leave it, Madame Sinclaire."

"Fine. Two and a half times our usual rates... But the lingerie stays with me." The woman suddenly wrenched the chain viciously, pulling Stella into her lap with a startled cry.

Instantly, the woman was attacking the corset, but Togusa stopped the video and - tactfully - replaced it on-screen with Stella's profile from the day before.

"So, what we've gathered from this video regarding Stella is this..." Togusa pressed a button, and the profile updated itself with her new intel; her approximate age of about 18, and near the bottom, a footnote was added, detailing what the woman had said about her past. "Now, as for the three adults... we only managed to identify the two that were speaking. The second man neither said a word or even looked at the camera enough for a visual identification."

"Right, now, from our end, we've confirmed that the speaking man was Stella's last captor, the one we rescued her from initially." Aramaki explained, resting his arms on his desk. "Franz Bucciano, an Italian mafia member with links to prostitution rings and extortion cases. Obviously, he's currently dead, but it's the woman, the one he called Madame Sinclaire that we're looking at here."

Togusa brought up the profile they'd managed to find on her, and at that moment Stella abruptly stood up, staring at the woman's image with wide eyes.

"Mistress..."

The Major slowly stood up, ready to assist Stella, but after a moment, she seemed to come back to her senses on her own and sat back down, holding one hand to the side of her head, growling in frustration.

"Stella, are you alright?" The Major asked quietly.

"That's Mistress... She was the other owner I had... Before _him_." Stella seemed to be slightly angry, but continued speaking. "He was... gross, and creepy and wouldn't stop touching my hair! At least Mistress gave me rewards when I did what she told me to do... That fucking creep cut off my legs! It's so fucking..." Stella broke down into tears, the rest of her words unintelligible. When the Major tried to help her stand to leave the room, she refused, quickly wiping the tears away, continuing to explain what she could before the memory faded. "And he was always giving me needles, saying it would help me... but every time he did it, I just... I just... blacked out. I couldn't remember anything for a long time."

"Right... Olivia Sinclaire, what little we found on her was from her medical and prosthetics records. Using that as a launch point, we uncovered that she's an upper-classwoman with strong political connections. Her criminal endeavors are unaccounted for... because there doesn't seem to be any on record." Togusa dictated the report, then turned to Stella. "But considering what she said in the video, wouldn't she had ties to prostitution and slave trafficking, not to mention the Italian mafia as well?"

"Hmm... Ishikawa, when was this video recorded?" Aramaki asked, turning towards the beared man, who quickly responded.

"Ten months ago."

"So that means..." Stella looked up suddenly. "I'm nineteen."

"By the sound of things, yes... That is safe to assume." Aramaki nodded, stroking his chin for a moment. "In any case, let's look into missing persons reports, particularily children, from seven years ago. Try to match for her description. Togusa, Borma, I want you two to consult police records. Paz, Saito, continue looking into Sinclaire and find anything we can use on her. Ishikawa, go through that video again, try to find even a single frame of that third man's face. He may be a key factor in this. Batou, Major, stay with Stella for now, in case she can remember anything else."

"Well, aren't we just one happy little family." Batou joked, which earned an immediate double scowl from the two women. "I'm kidding!"

"Alright, Stella, let's leave them to their tasks." The Major gently lead Stella out of the room, followed by Batou, who was still trying to figure out how to interact with the young woman. "Hang on, I have... an unusual idea."

"Unusual?" Both Batou and Stella regarded her with confusion, and Batou in particular could detect a glint of mischief in her tone.

"Want to join me on the shooting range?" The Major asked with a smile, to which Stella nodded.

"Sure, why not?"

Batou didn't know it, but the Major was intentionally appealing towards Stella's tomboy nature, so the thought of something like ballistics training wasn't something he though that Stella would enjoy.

 _Women_... He thought to himself.

* * *

Batou and the Major's jaws were on the floor. After a five minute tutorial on how to use Section 9's standard issued Serburo M5 9mm... Stella fired an entire 20 round magazine into a grouping the size of an apple.

"That's amazing, Stella! Well done!" The Major congratulated her with a beaming smile as Stella lowered the pistol now that the slide was locked back.

"Beginner's luck. I'd like to see her do that with the rest of the recruits that are still in training." Batou commented with a small snort.

"You want to put your money where your mouth is, Batou?" Stella slowly turned her head towards him, a rather cocky smirk on her face.

"Damn right! Next recruit session's in half an hour. I hear you have an insane core muscle workout regime from your doctor... You won't be needing that today." Batou grinned as Stella put her hand on her hip, still confident in her capability. "See you at the training session, Stella-chan."

With that, he left the firing range, leaving Stella to turn to the Major and hand over the M5. "Don't worry, I'm not backing out of this. I want to show him what I can really do... I can't be Stella-chan to him forever."

"Y'know, if you weren't in protective custody, I'd definitely consider you for possible recruitment to Section 9. You definitely have what it takes to join our ranks." The Major smiled slightly. "Alright, now go knock the big guy down a few pegs." She winked at Stella, her smile widening.


	9. Chapter 9

"Alright, listen up! Today's session is a basic firearms test. You will first have four close-range targets at position one!" Batou indicated the map sitting on the table that currently had all of the Serburo M5 9mm's and spare ammunition. "Next, you will run to position two, where two moving targets will be here, and another two here." He indicated both locations with his finger. "Position three is the house, you enter through the front door. On the first floor, you will have three target, and two hostages. Do I even have to say it?" He looked up at the gather recruits, with Stella off to one side near the front. "Second floor has a similar situation. Four hostages, four targets. After that, drop down the ladder and take out the last five stationary targets that pop up as you return to position one. This entire exercise is a timed three minute scenario, and it will be run solo. These Serburo's hold twenty rounds, so unless you screw the hell up, you shouldn't need to reload. But, that doesn't mean I won't throw in a few surprises along the run, so grab what you think you'll need for ammo."

Stella knew that he was going to pull out all the stops for her run, so she smirked as she filed into the line of recruits collecting their ammo and pistols from the table.

* * *

As the line of recruits dwindled, Stella adjusted the straps of the holster on her leg. She already made sure to at least appease Batou by taking two extra magazines, but given her martial arts capability, she shouldn't really need to just use her gun. And she had no doubts that he would be watching the whole time through some sensors or cameras.

"Alright, alright... I heard two extra shots, so you had to reload at least once, huh?" Batou documented the latest recruit's attempt. "Alright, unload the pistol and turn in the ammo. _NEXT_!"

It was the guy ahead of Stella's run now. She put her hand onto her hip, just above the two ammo pouches on the belt she was using for the holster.

The recruit's run went well, then Batou turned to Stella with a smirk tugging at his lips. Up until now, he hadn't thrown any surprises at the recruits at all.

"Alright, Stella-chan, let's see if you've got what it takes." He was grinning from ear to ear now, so Stella moved to the starting position and unholstered the Serburo on her leg.

The first four targets popped up, and she immediately brought them into the sights, firing a single clean headshot into each one before running to position two, already firing at the first pair of sliding targets. She swung the pistol to the next location, and saw that Batou had increased their movement speed quite a lot. She quickly fired, hitting the first in the center of the chest, and adjusted her aim to hit the second in the head just before it moved behind some cover.

The house was next, and she sprinted through the door and quickly aimed the gun inside, finding two white targets partially blocking the usual black ones. With ease she took them both out and suddenly had an instinctive feeling that Batou was interfering again.

Without wasting a second, she swung her leg around in a spectacular sweeping high kick, knocking off the third target's head as it was launched towards her from the side.

With that surprise out of the way, Stella charged up the stairs, directing her Serburo around the first corner, only to find that the upper floor was four rooms and a single central hallway.

Without further ado, Stella flattened her back against the side of the first room, swinging herself around the frame with the Serburo in one hand, already lining up the sights with the black target, only to have it suddenly switch colours and turn white.

Stella didn't stop the movement she had going, so with an elegant spin on her heel, she directed the gun into the next room, finding two targets and no hostage. Two taps, and she had her back to the third room, swinging the gun around the frame as she dropped to one knee, her hair blowing from the near miss of the third target. She easily took it down and and spun around as she stood up, bringing her other hand onto the Serburo's grip and aimed at the fourth target, delivering a precise headshot before diving headfirst out the window with the ladder, rolling upon impact and smoothly standing up.

As she ran to the end, she saw that Batou was smirking in the distance again, so she quickly reacted as her targets started to pop up... and move.

Five shots, and all five were down. She ran to the end and held the Serburo out to Batou by the barrel.

"Thanks for the little bit of cardio, Batou... But I'm still going to need my actual workout, if I want to actually break a sweat. Nice try on the ' _surprises_ ' by the way." Stella unhooked her holster and belt, dropping them onto the table as she waved with one hand over her shoulder, a cheeky smile on her face as she left the training floor.

"Wait, Mr. Batou... She wasn't even a real recruit?!" One of them asked, awestruck by the impressive display by the black haired female cyborg.

"No, she's not." Batou glanced at her final time. She'd finished the entire mock up in ninety four seconds... "See, she's not even doing it for real, and she got a better time than any of you! She did that run in ninety four seconds! She took down all the targets and still had ammo to spare! Come on! That is how you do this! And she did it with interference from me!" He called to the recruits, very few of whom had any significant cybernetics like Stella did. "And she's only nineteen!"

* * *

Stella sat in the Tachikoma hangar a short time later, perched quite sassily atop a box, listening to the Tachikoma's have a rather philisophical debate. She was leaning back very slightly, both arms supporting herself and her legs crossed at the knee. She really liked the Tachikoma's, they were very child-like and exciteable, but very smart and eager to learn.

"Oh, are they debating life and death again?" The Major asked suddenly, deactivating her Therm-Optic camo beside Stella, who gave no reaction this time, since she'd figured out by now to look for the distortion and listen for the humming.

"Seems that way." Stella flicked her hair out of her face, momentarily revealing the star birthmark above her eye.

"So, how'd it go with Batou?" The Major sat beside her on the crate.

"Too easy." Stella shook her head. "I heard him give the other recruits a lecture, saying that what I did was the way they should've done the exercise."

"I was there. Why do you think I was using my Therm-Optic camo just now?" The Major smiled. "You did a twenty target firearm exercise using only nineteen rounds. Not many recruits can do that, nor could they do it as quickly and effectively."

"So what do we do now? It's too early to eat, and I'm holding off for at least a little bit before I do my workout for today." Stella had a thoughtful expression on her face. She knew she'd run out of steam with her memories, so that was a bust. She'd just shown Batou up, and like she said, it was still early in the day for other things.

"You could join the Tachikoma debate..." The Major teased, but Stella shook her head.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not really the type for that sort of thing... Too much of a tomboy, I guess." Stella smiled at her last comment. "God, this amnesia is stupid. It's like... all my real memories are locked away, as if they aren't even there in my head anymore."

"Sounds to me like you have a Ghost, and it's whispering to you." The Major said sagely. "But you're right. Your amnesia is unusually disconnected between memories, and even then, they only come forth under specific stimuli."

"Hey, wait a second... Didn't you tell Batou to bring those guys here? The ones that tried to take me." Stella suddenly looked at the Major, a spark glinting in her eyes, but the Major held up her hand.

"You saw me shoot their legs. Until they're out of the hospital, they're not going anywhere. They are charged, and have local police keeping an eye on them in the meantime." The Major explained. "In any case, unless we have more evidence, or they confess during their interrogation, then they're a lost cause for your case. Just an isolated incident."

"Well, if that's the case..." Stella hopped off the crate suddenly. "Hey, I'm pretty sure it doesn't concern my case or anything... But I think I just remembered something about my life before... y'know, I became pedophile bait."

"What is it, Stella?" The Major knew to never overlook any details, but if it was as minor as Stella thought it was, it was still worth hearing.

"I just remember getting into martial arts because I got into a lot of fights at school... I don't really know if that helps, honestly, but I just thought it was worth sharing." Stella shrugged before asking. "Do you mind if I go back to the firing range? I had fun shooting that M5 you guys use."

"Tell you what, I think I can do you one better." The Major smiled. "Want to try an M-23?"

"Is that another kind of pistol?" Stella looked at her with keen interest. "I saw that Togusa's gun is different than the M5's... is his an M-23?"

The Major chuckled softly before simply saying. " _Bigger._ "


	10. Chapter 10

A whole week went by, Section 9 was still hard at work trying to gather the necessary intel on Sinclaire and the unidentified third man, and the police records came up a bust. Not a single police agency in Japan had received a missing child report that matched Stella's description. Of course, Stella had a witty comment when she'd heard that detail.

"It's as if I never even disappeared in the first place. I take it the local police are idiots compared to you guys here, right?" She smirked at the Major, who was trying to keep a straight face.

"This does seem strange, but then again, if what we know regarding Sinclaire's political connections is true, I have no doubts that includes the top police brass as well as politicians. She might have had the case erased from police databases, or even claimed her as her daughter to fool them." Aramaki suggested. "Stella, have you managed to remember anything else in the past few days?"

"Not much, honestly. Bits and pieces that don't make sense yet." Stella shook her head. "The only thing I do remember before becoming her personal fucktoy was her initial comment about how she got ahold of me. I remember being picked up off the street one day by some guy that said he'd take care of me... Made me call him Uncle."

"But considering Sinclaire's comment about receiving Stella, about her 'persuading' him... I have a sneaking suspicion that she killed him and just took Stella herself." The Major spoke up, leaning her hip against Aramaki's desk. "So that's a bust if I saw one."

"Still... It begs the question of how Stella got herself into that situation in the first place. Without police records, we would need to bring Sinclaire in personally, and question her." Aramaki thought aloud, which seemed to spark something in both the Major and Stella.

"Those punks..." Stella spoke aloud. "Are they fit for interrogation yet?"

"Y'know, I was thinking the same thing. I'll call the hospital and find out." The Major snapped her fingers with a smirk, and Aramaki quickly held out his desk phone for her to use.

After the call, she turned to Stella and said. "Tomorrow afternoon is their discharge time, but the police already agreed to bring them here for questioning first."

"Good... For some reason, thinking back to that attempt, I can't get this strange sensation out of my head... It's like... instinctive. It just had a vibe, like Sinclaire was standing right there the whole time... I could almost smell that gaudy perfume she wore when it happened." Stella was struggling to find the right words to explain the sensation she'd experienced at the time. "Even that rag they shoved into my mouth reeked of her perfume."

"So do you think that Sinclaire sent those men, I mean, the rag's scent would be long gone by now, but if that's the case, it would mean she'd recently interacted with the men... Hypothetically, of course." The Major hummed in thought as she explained her theory.

"I remember that smell... She always used the same perfume, from the very first day I was with her. It was on that rag." Stella was determined, her face set into stone. "So what happens if you do bring her in?"

"Well, since you're in protective custody, we can't let on that you're even alive. Considering her connections to Franz, she'd know that he was raided by police and was killed in the process. Your whereabouts to her would be unknown." Aramaki explained. "However... If you wish to confront her and force her to make a mistake, I think we can arrange that."

"Oh, do tell." Stella was keenly interested, her eyes narrowing and a smile tugging at her lips.

"Chief, do you have a plan?" The Major asked, facing him with a raised eyebrow.

"Stella, it's no secret that you've been completing our standard recruitment training. In fact, I should compliment you on how exceptionally you've done it... So, on that note; I'd like to extend an official invitation into our ranks... Would you like to become a member of Public Security Section 9?" Aramaki leaned forward, rather business-like. "It's your choice. You'd need to have a cyberbrain surgery as soon as possible if you do accept."

"On one condition." Stella smirked. "As much as I like the Serburo M5's... I'd like a different sidearm. There's this particular pistol I keep remembering, but can't figure out why it's involved in my memory."

"Oh? What model would that be?" Aramaki didn't consider the request unreasonable in the slightest. If anything, it was a good idea.

"It's an old model..." Stella explained for a moment. "I think it's called... uh..." Stella touched her forehead with her fingertips for a moment, thinking hard. "Beretta... Beretta M92f. Yeah, that's it." Stella looked up as she remembered the venerable firearm.

[Batou, do you have any old sidearms in your private collection?] The Major asked over a data channel. [Old Beretta's in particular.]

[I'd have to go check, but I'm pretty sure I do. An old M92f, I recall.] Batou replied. [Why do you ask? That's gotta be a fifty year old gun by now.]

[Just get it and bring it in. It's for Stella. The Chief wants to hire her into Section 9, and she said she keeps remembering that model for some reason.] The Major explained. [You could give it to her as a graduation gift. She did complete all the standard training, after all.]

[Well, if that's the case... Alright. I'll head out and grab it right after this training session.] Batou replied, ending the transmission.

"I just spoke with Batou, he said he'd check his private collection to see if he has one for you." The Major explained to Stella, who smirked.

"Is he pissed about it?" Stella asked. If she had a private collection of anything, she'd be less than pleased about someone taking away from it, especially something old like an M92f.

"Didn't seem like he was. He said it's stashed with his other weapons though, so he's going to bring it here later." The Major replied, putting her hands onto her hips. "So... Stella... Aside from your cyberbrain, you're going to need some ID and all the formalities. We can do that while Batou gets you your new gun."

"It's not really a recent model, Major..." Stella smirked as she followed the Major towards the door, only for Aramaki to stop them.

"Stella... Before you go, there's one last thing I have to tell you." He rested his elbows on the surface of the desk, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"And what would that be... Chief?" Stella smirked, her eyebrow raised sassily.

" _Welcome to Section 9_."

* * *

Batou couldn't help but tease Stella as he handed over the old pistol an hour later.

"Don't go and break it, y'hear? This gun's almost fifty years old." He smiled as he put his hand onto her shoulder, his tone serious. "You did good, kid. Don't let me down."

"What? No 'Stella-chan' comment? Is this even the real Batou?" Stella quipped, waving her hand in front of his face as everyone laughed.

"So, Stella... Now that you're a member of Section 9, how should we proceed with our case with Sinclaire?" The Major smiled as Stella slid her Beretta into her leg holster.

"Bring her in for questioning, I suspect her to be involved with prostitution and slave trafficking... She's also wanted in connection to a kidnapping case." Stella replied, smirking.

"Ishikawa, do you have her location?" The Major turned to the bearded man, who nodded. "Everyone else, keep up you current angles for this case. We're not finished yet!" The Major turned on her heel, quickly followed by her new partner, Stella.

* * *

Olivia Sinclaire sat at her desk, her legs spread as one of her sex slaves orally pleasured her underneath. She had long ago learned - and mastered - not showing signs of her arousal. Suddenly, a knock at her door made her look up with a frown.

"Enter." She commanded, and the door was opened to reveal another female slave, dressed in a full maid uniform.

"Madame, you have a visitor. They said their name is Motoko Kusanagi."

"Send her in." Sinclaire ordered, tapping the top of her desk sharply to stop the slave under her desk. The slave immediately retracted from her nether lips and dutifully adjusted her Mistress' outfit just in time for the guest to enter, accompanied by a second maid. "You're Motoko Kusanagi?"

"Yes, Madame Sinclaire." The Major bowed respectfully. "May I enter?"

Sinclaire's lip twitched into a smile. This woman seemed to know her place in this situation. "Of course, please, sit."

The Major sat in the preoffered chair and allowed Sinclaire to resume her seat.

"So, how may I be of assistance?" Sinclaire asked, clasping her hands together on the desk, keeping her knees together to silently tell the slave to stay silent.

"I'm looking for a lost girl, and I was directed towards you in the hopes that you would know her." The Major explained, maintaining eye contact with Sinclaire the whole time.

"Could you describe the girl?" Sinclaire seemed curious, and leaned forward slightly.

"Why not just show you a picture? I'm not very good at descriptions..." Motoko reached into her pocket and produced a folded photograph, which she respectfully handed to Sinclaire, who accepted it and raised an eyebrow for a moment before slowly unfolding it. She read the bright red marker scrawled over the image aloud.

"' _Turn around_ '...?" Sinclaire's eyes widened in alarm, spinning her desk chair so forcefully that her knee collided with the slave's shoulder in the kneespace.

"Did you miss me... _Mistress_?" Stella shimmered into sight as she disable her new Therm-Optic camo, her smirk and expression rather amused. "You did always say I was your favourite."


	11. Chapter 11

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are." Sinclaire smoothly replied. This girl was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"You sold me to your friend, Franz Bucciano, a little over ten months ago. You never really gave me an identity, but I go by Stella now. You owned me for six years as your personal sex slave, just like that girl kneeling under your desk right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Stella." Sinclaire's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Need some... _persuading_?" Stella hooked a finger around the hair covering her birthmark and pulled the black curtain aside, revealing the distinctive five point star above her eye.

"Hmph..." Sinclaire crossed her legs, staring at Stella with severe displeasure. "So you survived that police raid on Franz's place. Doesn't explain why you're here, slave."

"Firstly, you will address me as Stella." Stella glared at the woman with intense dislike. "Second, I'm with Public Security Section 9, and I'm here to place you under arrest for your connection to prostitution rings, organized crime, slave trafficking and kidnapping of a minor."

"On who's authority?!" Sinclaire snarled, standing up, but finding that she no longer towered over Stella like she used to. A moment later, she realized that all of Stella's limbs were cybernetic, and they rendered her a solid two inches taller than Sinclaire.

"On the authority of Section 9. Now, you can come willingly, or in handcuffs. You decide, _Mistress_." Stella produced a pair of cuffs from the back of her belt and hung them from one finger. "I know from experience that you're a fan of them, so should I just do it anyway?"

"You little skank!" Sinclaire lunged for Stella, but with a quick counter and the ratcheting sound of the cuffs being snapped closed, she realized that Stella was no longer the same submissive slave she knew her as.

"I knew you'd get kinky." Stella gripped her by the shoulder and forcefully lead her out of the mansion, with the smiling Major at her side.

* * *

Stella and the Major returned to their safehouse, awash with a feeling of relief. They'd finally gotten the brains of her captivity in custody, and Sinclaire was rather quick to deny her involvement until she was presented with the video - encrypted to high heaven to prevent it from being modified - which instantly had her at Section 9's mercy, and thus, she was convicted on all charges and her small army of slaves were taken in by local police.

"So, Stella..." The Major had entered Stella's room to find her on the floor, doing her workout for the day. "Now that Sinclaire's in custody, how do you feel about the state of things?"

"We're only done the captivity portion of my case." Stella replied, effortlessly doing her pushups in rapid succession. "Still need to fight through my amnesia - and any possible records that the bitch has on me - to figure out my past from before I was picked up by Uncle."

"Judging by your tone, you only call him that for lack of another name, right? I assume you hate him as much as you seem to do towards Sinclaire." The Major leaned on the doorframe with her arms crossed.

"Well, yeah... That's the only name I'd ever heard called by, even by the pedophile customers that raped me. Everyone called him Uncle." Stella replied, already finished with her push-ups. She was already on her back, putting her arms behind her head and crossing her ankles, pulling herself into her sit-ups.

"So, on that note... Any new memories to report?" The Major sat on the edge of Stella's bed, crossing her legs at the knee.

"A few scattered ones, the only really big one was my martial arts training... Nothing useful." Stella answered with a scowl. "I heard Batou comment about it to a recruit during a training session, but it seems my style of martial arts isn't a known style. None of them could recognize my moves."

"Must be a family technique, or possibly mixed styles. Do you recall what category you were placed in during your competitions?"

"Not sure... I'd guess it's mixed, but we won't know that until we find out my real identity, will we?" Stella had a thoughtful frown on her face for a moment before she asked. "So when's my cyberbrain surgery scheduled for? Chief wanted it done as soon as possible."

"He didn't say." The Major shook her head. "In the meantime, you need to finish those sit-ups. Don't forget to do your cooldown, otherwise you'll crash again." The Major stood up and smirked over her shoulder as she left, closing the door as she did.

* * *

Later, after a quick shower, Stella and the Major went out to eat, both of them making sure their pistols were in working order. Once she'd received it, Stella figured out that the old gun held fifteen rounds in the magazine, so thanks to Batou, she acquired a stockpile of spare magazines, and was currently carrying three spare, plus the one loaded in the gun.

"Hey, Major... I just had an idea..." Stella commented as they climbed into the Major's car. "Remember my comment about having my own Arm Launcher?"

"I do, yes." The Major nodded. "Pad Thai sound good?"

"Oh, hell yeah! That's probably my favourite food so far." Stella smiled, then held up her arm. "So, I know now that it's doubtful I'd have the capacity in my arm for one like Batou... but what about a blade instead?"

"Hmmm... If it's what you want, then I can't really stop you, can I?" The Major thought about it, and it was a pretty good idea. Stella was more than skilled enough to fight up close, and the concealed weapon would definitely fall under combat augmentation.

"There's also another idea... Similar, but slightly strange." Stella explained, glancing down at her feet. "Consider this for a second... High heels... okay... but instead of like, stiletto heels or whatever... knives. The heel part is a retractible knife."

"What next, claws in your fingers?" The Major laughed as she pulled out of the parking lot. Stella was definitely creative, that's for sure.

"That's... actually a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?" Stella nodded, impressed.

The Major stored their conversation away for later. She'd speak to the technician in charge of designing her cybernetics when she went in for her cyberbrain surgery to see what they could do about her ideas...

All of them.

* * *

After they ate - Stella took an intense liking to adding shrimp to her noodles - they left the resturaunt and both looked up at the evening sky.

"Y'know, if this was a date, I'd say how romantic the sky looks right now..." Stella already had her trademark witty comment on tap.

"And I'd probably whip out some line like, 'But it's not half as great as you' or something like that." The Major couldn't stop herself from saying it, and they both stared at each other for a moment, steeling themselves as their faces inched closer together until they kissed each other, gently at first, but then they passionately locked lips, Stella gently tracing her fingertips along the Major's cheek.

"As much of a cheesy line that was... I liked it." Stella smiled after they'd separated. "It was really cute... Motoko."

"Stella..." The Major was at a loss for words, completely stunned by what just happened. But before she could form a coherent sentence, Chief Aramaki suddenly spoke up over a data channel.

[Major, are you with Stella right now?]

[Of course, Chief. Is something the matter?] The Major replied, curious.

[It's a request from Sinclaire. She wants to speak to Stella in person. Do you think you can convince Stella to speak to Sinclaire before she's taken into police jurisdiction?] Chief Aramaki explained.

[I'll see what I can do.] The Major agreed, then turned her gaze towards Stella. "I just got a message from the Chief. He said that Sinclaire is asking to speak to you."

"What for?" Stella asked, her gaze immediately narrowing suspiciously.

"Doesn't seem like she said why. Do you want to find out what she wants?" The Major put her hands onto her hips, her tone neutral.

"It was that data channel thing, right?" Stella asked, her eyes still narrowed into almost dangerous slits.

"Yes, that's how the Chief usually contacts me." The Major nodded.

"Can you tell the Chief that I'll speak to her tomorrow? I'm just..." Stella hesitated, trying to find the right words for what she wanted to say. "I'm just not ready at the moment. I might strangle the woman before she even has a chance to open her mouth."

[Did you get that, Chief?] The Major asked, since they hadn't disabled the data channel yet.

[Yes, I did. I'll have her transfer postponed until noon tomorrow. Try to have her ready by that time... If you can.] Chief Aramaki replied, then terminated the link with the Major.

"Okay, Chief said that Sinclaire's staying at HQ until noon tomorrow. Do you think you can talk to her by then? After that, she's being taken directly to prison." The Major explained to Stella, who sighed before following her back to the car.

Honestly, it had been a rather draining first day working with Section 9. Hopefully things got a bit more fun and exciting as time went on.


	12. Chapter 12

In the middle of the night, a few hours after Stella had passed out, The Major was suddenly startled awake, her eyes snapping open in surprise. After her racing mind caught up with reality, she realized that her fingertips were gently touching her lips, and the phantom of a word echoed in her mouth.

"' _Stella_ '..." She murmured, realizing that she'd been dreaming of that utterly strange moment when Stella kissed her outside the restaurant. "What's this have to do with anything?"

For some reason, she couldn't get the feeling of Stella's soft timid kiss out of her mind. Sure, she'd had many a memorable kiss over her many years, but absolutely none of them could hold a candle to that single split second of contact with Stella.

The Major took several long silent minutes to collect her thoughts. It was at that moment that she realized the blinding truth...

She'd fallen in love with Stella.

* * *

As usual, Stella slept sprawled out on her back, utterly content. It was only after a strange tactile sensation bothering her mouth did she wake up, but she realized that it was from her dream, not a reality.

Wiping away some accumulated drool from the edge of her lips, Stella blinked in confusion several times. Her drool wasn't what she'd felt from her dream, for sure... But what did she feel?

She thought hard, pushing aside the bullshit of her amnesia, dragging forth the last scraps of her fading dream's echo back to the forefront of her mind...

It was the memory of her kiss with the Major.

Stella immediately grabbed her pillow, which was usually tossed to the side, and tightly hugged the soft cushion, burying her face into it with blazing cheeks. There was no way that the Major... no, Motoko... felt the same way she did. It was just a stupid crush... right?

Was it really _just_ a crush?

* * *

The next morning, The Major awoke with the new knowledge that she truly and deeply loved Stella. Of course, she knew that these personal ramifications would interfere with their relationship as partners within Section 9, so she had to come up with something to tell the Chief as soon as possible. In the meantime, she needed to at least confirm whether Stella returned the feelings or not... That was a very important detail indeed.

The Major was already cleaned up and ready for work when Stella blearily opened her bedroom door, her overall image of someone that hadn't slept very well. She barely had her eyes open, she was moving noticeably slowly, and she had grey bags under her eyes.

"You alright, Stella?" The Major noticed her rough appearance as she herself loaded a magazine into her usual Serburo M5 and slid it under her leather jacket.

When the sound of the M5 chambering a round reached Stella's ears, she looked over very slowly, a faint groan coming from her throat that sounded almost like a curious hum. Whatever sound it may be was quickly replaced by a very confusion laden "Wha?" That she uttered aloud, clearly more than 75% asleep at the moment.

"I'll take that as a no..." The Major smiled, then picked up her car keys before adding. "I'll grab you some coffee while I grab breakfast. Try not to fall asleep somewhere painful until I get back, okay?"

Stella seemed to be slowly processing her words, the figurative gears in her head slowly turning for several seconds before she slowly turned back into her room and attempted to flop down onto her bed...

WHAM!

"I haven't even left yet, and I'm eating my own words..." The Major was trying not to laugh - She knew that if he'd seen or heard it, Batou would be on the floor by now, roaring with laughter - as she hurried inside Stella's room to help Stella, only to realize that Stella... was asleep, right where she fell at the side of her bed. "And you were so close too..."

* * *

Stella awoke with a groan. Her head was pounding something fierce, and oddly enough, she was sprawled out on the floor, right beside her bed.

"Did I... fall out of bed?" Stella grasped the part of her skull that was throbbing so much, hauling herself into a seated position with her back against the side of the bed.

After a few seconds, Stella decided that her head pain was minor enough to go through her day with, so she got herself to stand up and quickly got herself showered and ready for the day. By the time she was ready, her Beretta loaded and holstered by the time that the Major returned, carrying a bag of breakfast in one hand and a coffee cup in her other.

"How's your head feeling?" The Major asked, holding out the coffee as she placed the bag onto the table.

"I'll manage, thanks." Stella replied as she accepted the caffeinated beverage. In the week since she'd been with the Major, Stella had been introduced to the existence of coffee and already had a preferred way of taking it. As the two of them ate, she occasionally took a careful sip, making sure at first that it wasn't too hot to consume.

"So, aside from the meeting or whatever with Sinclaire, is there anything else we're doing today?" Stella asked as she chewed a mouthful of her food.

"Batou asked me to oversee a weapons evaluation for a proposed new assault shotgun to replace our current M870's. You're more than welcome to join us, after talking to Sinclaire that is." The Major explained. "Other than that, it's just your case that's on the docket for today."

"How long have the M870's been used by Section 9?" Stella asked, keenly interested. For some reason, she took a strong liking to firearms in general.

"They've been in use by Section 9 since the very beginning. Even longer than our Serburo M5's to be exact." The Major nodded with a slight smirk. "In fact, if the new assault shotguns perform well enough, I think you'd be the perfect fit to use one as your standard longarm."

"I'd like to give the M870's a try first, just to see how well they perform so I can make my own evaluation between them." Stella chuckled. For some reason, the idea of using any sort of weapon felt so... thrilling. "I like the M-23's though. They're fun to shoot."

"I do too." The Major smiled. "So, finish up, and we can get going, okay?"

Stella nodded, since she was almost finished eating anyway. After shoveling the last of her food into her mouth, they both left for HQ to begin their day at work.

* * *

Olivia Sinclaire sat with her wrists cuffed together, her legs crossed at the knee as she sat in the interrogation room, awaiting the apparent arrival of Section 9's newest agent, Stella. For some reason, the otherwise silent room had a strange humming sound that was beginning to get on her nerves.

"State of the art Type 3003 Therm-Optic Camo... That's the humming you're hearing, Sinclaire."

Sinclaire spun around, her eyes wide with shock. She knew the voice belonged to Stella, but it came from right beside her, and nothing was there!

"I take it you're using that invisibility thing you did in my office, Agent Stella?"

"Drop the 'Agent' crap." Stella couldn't help but scowl at the added title. For some reason, she didn't like it. "I'm only here on the Major's request. You're the one that wanted to speak with me, so get to the point. I'm expected at a meeting very soon."

"Very well... Ma'am." Sinclaire bowed her head as Stella's Therm-Optic deactivated, revealing the scowling young woman leaning on the wall with her arms crossed. "I wanted to personally apologize to you, for everything that I myself did to you... I'm sure my words are meaningless to you, but I also have a small gift for you. I spoke with your boss, Mr. Aramaki, and he said it would be waiting for you in his office. I assure you, I have no malicious intent."

"What kind of gift is it?" Stella sat opposite to Sinclaire and rested her armoured arms on the edge of the table.

"Not to sound rude... But doesn't that defy the point of a gift?" Sinclaire smiled ruefully. "Do you really want to know?"

" _Yes_."

Sinclaire sighed quietly, but smiled genuinely as she replied. "A pocket watch from my personal collection. I noticed that since your arms are cybernetic, and given your occupation, I deduced that a pocket watch was better suited than a wrist watch."

"Why give me a watch... of any kind?" Stella narrowed her eyes, leaning back in the chair, still regarding the woman before her that she oh so wanted to tear in half with her bare hands.

"To give back the time I took from you."

* * *

Chief Aramaki knew that Stella was coming. So when she knocked on his office door, he allowed for a rare smile briefly before resuming his usual stoic expression. "Enter."

Stella pushed the door open and closed it behind her as she approached his desk and stood before it. "Chief, Sinclaire told me she's left a gift for me with you. Has it been checked for any modifications or traps?"

"It was checked thoroughly, yes. Not a single modification nor trap was found in the gift itself or the box it was brought in." The Chief indicated a felt-lined jewelry style box sitting on his desk, and a small gift tag was attached, which Stella flipped open to read. "To Agent Stella, of Public Security Section 9. A gift for all your lost time. Olivia Sinclaire."

"I do not know the reference she made, but I did take a look at the gift myself... that's a very nice timepiece." Chief Aramaki clasped his hands together as Stella opened the case with a snap and extracted a glittering silver pocket watch. The surface of the watch was covered in beautifully arranged diamonds, and the intricately engraved metal resembled a night sky, giving the impression that one was stargazing. She flipped the watch over and saw that the entire back was - rather thoughtfully - engraved by Sinclaire. It read, 'For the time that was lost.'

"Y'know, for such a heartless cunt... You can't deny she's thoughtful." Stella couldn't help but crack a smile as she affixed her new watch to her belt loop and clicked the button to open the cover, finding it to already be ticking away, with the correct time too. "I still hate her though. Just... not as much."


	13. Chapter 13

Stella lovingly traced her fingertips along the length of the standard issued M870 ISC shotgun. This was a powerful weapon designed to be used up close and personal, just the way she liked things.

Lifting the loaded shotgun up to her shoulder, she aimed towards the humanoid shaped target and checked the weapon's chamber to confirm that a round was loaded. There wasn't, so she wrenched the pump back and quickly pushed it forward to load the shell inside.

Without further ado, she started firing the close quarters weapon, pumping a new round immediately after firing. After the eighth round, she pumped the final round out of the weapon and tilted the weapon into her forearm, using her left hand to pull individual shells out of the mounted carrier on the side of the weapon's receiver and sliding them into her shell tube under the barrel.

"This is the main issue with the M870's that's being considered for debate. The long, one-round-at-a-time reload process. The new USS-12 shotguns are magazine fed, and semi-automatic. They use the same shells as the M870's, they're lighter, and reload faster." The Major was observing from behind Stella, leaning on the wall with her arms crossed.

"That means they'll have more recoil, increased chances of jamming, and if fired the wrong way, accuracy would suffer." Stella pumped the shotgun as she brought it back up to her shoulder and started to resume firing, still evaluating the differences in the shotgun models to the Major as she fired at a new target.

"This model, on the other hand, is slower and more meticulous. I fire a round, if I miss, I rechamber a shell and fire again. It doesn't accidentally fire additional shells when I don't want it to, plus groaning and moaning about a long reload means you haven't taken out all of the hostiles and are taking returned fire."

"You're right, on all points. They're also cheaper to acquire than the USS-12, oddly enough. Do you want to do the actual evaluation at the demonstration? Chief finally gave me the go-ahead to place you into our squad roles as our pointman... sorry, pointwoman." The Major smiled at her correction. "You go in first, assess the situation, and act accordingly."

"What position do you hold?" Stella asked, halting in the process of rechambering a new shell, the breach still wide open with a faint trail of gunsmoke coming out.

"I'm usually an infiltrator, but I'm also our current pointwoman. I can switch to an assault or support position if I want to." The Major explained. "Saito wants me to ask you if you want to try sniping." She relayed the data message she just received from the resident sniper of Section 9.

"Oh, fuck no!" Stella pulled a disgusted face. "I don't have the patience for sniping, I like to get nice and close." She accented her comment by chambering a new shotgun shell into her gun and resumed firing.

[She said no, why do you ask, Saito?] The Major asked.

[Well, given her skill with firearms testing, I wanted to see just how good she was. You could say I'm testing her, in a way. But since she said no, I take it she said she's not cut out for sniping?] Saito queried, sounding like he expected this response.

[She said she's impatient, and that she prefers to be up close.] The Major explained.

[Alright, looks like I won a bet with Batou, thanks Major.] Saito thanked her as he ended the transmission.

"Boys will be boys..." The Major muttered to herself, only to realize that Stella had stopped firing and was regarding her partner curiously.

"Something tells me that I was the brunt of a joke or a bet." Stella commented, leaning the shotgun over her shoulder with the pump pulled back and the gun completely empty.

"Is it your Ghost whispering to you?" The Major asked, to which Stella nodded. "Yeah, Saito and Batou seemed to be having some kind of bet about you. Saito seems to be the winner... as usual."

"I've noticed that he's even less expressive than I am." Stella commented as she clicked the M870's safety and carried it slung over her back by the strap. Together, her and the Major left the firing range to go to the live fire testing floor where the recruits were usually trained.

"It's his trademark." The Major commented as they met with the contractors for the USS-12 shotguns, which were laid out on a table with an array of accessory parts. "Anyway, go get'em, girl." She patted Stella's lower back as the younger girl joined the rest of her team for the demonstration.

* * *

True to her evaluation at the firing range, the USS-12 was effortlessly out-performed by the venerable M870 shotgun. In fact, out of the 100 rounds put through the USS-12, it jammed 14 times, mostly due to the magazine fed system, but also firing too rapidly messed it up pretty badly.

"Very well. It seems that we have a number of issues to work out before we can truly market the weapon to law enforcement. Our apologies, Section 9, for the inconveniences caused by our failed demonstration." The two representatives bowed apologetically before packing up their shotguns into cases and leaving.

"So... Batou." Stella was smirking, still carrying her M870 over her shoulder. "I heard you were betting something about me. Care to tell me the details?"

Behind her, Batou seemed oddly shocked by the authoritative tone in her voice.

"I showed Saito some of the footage from your training sessions, so we had a bet about what role you'd be given for squad detail... I bet assault, but Saito noticed your consistent accuracy, so he said sniper."

"Well, I guess you both owe me whatever was at stake, 'cause I'm the new pointwoman." Stella indicated her shotgun. "Why do you think I was the one doing the shotgun shooting? I'm going to be the one using them, that's why."

Both men turned towards each other, staring in silence for several seconds before reaching into their pockets and producing some money, which they held out to Stella without a word.

"Thank you, boys. Pleasure doing business with you." Stella winked cheekily as she collected the sheaf of notes and quickly counted out the money. Without another word, she left the training floor, mentally considering whether or not to visit the Tachikoma's or do her core workout for the day.

Tachikoma's... She definitely needed the entertainment. Her workout could wait... for now.

* * *

Later that morning, Paz and Batou entered the Tachikoma hangar to find Stella perched on a crate - as usual - singing some sort of nursery rhyme together with the Tachikoma's.

"Hey, Stella, since you like to be up close and all, Paz wants to spar with you. You game?" Batou called over the singing, and Stella looked up to see the man in question pinching a cigarette between his lips.

"What's your style?" Stella regarded him suspiciously, but he smiled and removed his hand from his pocket, tossing something towards her. She quickly caught the item and realized that it was a folding knife. "I'm not sure Motoko'd like the idea of me kicking your ass, Paz... I'll pass." She tossed the knife back and hopped off the crate, grabbing her shotgun from where it was leaning. "Thanks for the offer though." She waved as she decided to return her weapon to the armoury. She knew her Beretta was fine to carry at all times, but the shotgun wasn't.

"I'd actually love to see that, in all honesty." The sound of the Major's voice whispered into Stella's ear as she was suddenly pulled into a close embrace with the slightly taller woman and a door closed behind her before she could even gasp in surprise.

When Stella caught up with her senses, she realized that Motoko still hadn't released her from the embrace, and she was smiling at Stella. She also realized that her face was hot and her heart was starting to beat really fast. It wasn't from fear... it was excitement.

It happened in an instant, they were passionately kissing each other, locked at the mouth. Stella's hands greedily gripped and pulled at Motoko's leather jacket, while the Major's own hands kept her firmly locked in their embrace. For several seconds, they were silent, but then Stella moaned happily and Motoko smiled into their kiss before suddenly separating from Stella.

"How's your headache?" Motoko asked as Stella blinked several times, bringing her back into proper focus.

"Much better... Thanks." Stella still seemed a bit disoriented by what just happened, but held her composure well. "I uh..."

"I love you." "I love you."

They both spoke at the exact same time, saying the exact same words. Stella's eyes widened in utter shock when she realized that Motoko actually returned the same feeling that she had for her. In a split second, her entire face was scarlet, and she had not a single coherent thought in her head anymore.

Motoko couldn't help but find Stella's child-like embarrassment to be incredibly adorable. She let out a small laugh, gently pulling Stella closer to her body for another kiss, which Stella gave a hesitant caress with her lips before returning it in full. They both let out soft moans this time, and Stella's grip on the back of Motoko's jacket wasn't greedy. It was gentle and loving, just like the kiss they were currently sharing.

It was _perfect._


	14. Chapter 14

It was finally time. Stella had been preparing herself for several days beforehand, but it was finally time for her to receive her cyberbrain surgery. So, on the morning of the surgery, she went through her morning routine as usual, but on recommendation from Motoko, she left her Beretta at their shared safehouse. All she was going to bring with her was her pocket watch and her wallet, which she made double sure contained her Section 9 ID.

"Ready?" Motoko asked as Stella stepped out of her room, checking her pocket watch with one hand. She'd become quite proficient in using it one handed in the week since Sinclaire had gifted the dazzling timepiece to her.

"We're definitely getting something good to eat after this is over. I still remember the crap they call food at the hospital." Stella joked, her mouth dry from how nervous she was. Both Motoko and Chief Aramaki were rather tight-lipped about the details of how a cyberbrain surgery went.

"Oh, that's a given." Motoko smiled, having already passed along the messages to the cybernetics team that would be assisting with her cyberbrain surgery. The retractible blades - a katana for her left arm and her intriguing heelblade idea for her feet - and her clawed fingers would be added to her limbs once the cyberbrain was in place, thus allowing some internal components to be changed within the black metal surfaces. "Let's get going, shall we?"

* * *

"Is she ready, ma'am? This process will take at least six hours to complete." The head doctor speaking to Motoko glanced at Stella, who was already prepared, but was standing with her back turned, staring out a nearby window.

"Give her a few minutes... This is her last look at the world by organic means." Motoko spoke quietly. "And by the way... If she wasn't being augmented for combat, how long would her cyberbrain surgery alone take?"

"Two and a half... maybe three hours." The doctor replied, just as Stella put her cybernetic hand onto the window and sighed before turning towards them, finally prepared for the surgery. "Ah, Miss Stella. This way, please. Your surgery will take a few hours, and for obvious reasons, you're required to be placed under anesthesia. Are you prepared for this?"

"Look, I've already had three of my limbs chopped off with a rusty cleaver. The other one was removed surgically at my own request. I think I've prepared myself when it comes to losing some form of meat from my body." Stella raised an eyebrow, then Motoko leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss.

"You're rather sassy today... I like that." She smiled as they separated. "Don't worry about a thing. I'll be watching the whole time."

Stella nodded, her cheeks a bit pink at the public display of affection. They both considered themselves _officially_ together, but hadn't really been... open about it yet.

With that, Stella followed the doctor into the operating room, and laid down on the table, and Motoko took a seat facing the observation window. She watched every single movement like a hawk, and settled in for the long wait as Stella's dose of anesthesia took affect and her eyes closed.

* * *

Stella's eyes slowly opened, and she found herself in a large circular bedroom overlooking the evening lit city. The twinkling lights were beautiful, and she took a few slow steps towards the glass, only to realize that Motoko had been standing behind her the whole time after catching her lover's reflection in the glass.

"Hey." The simple, casual greeting was whispered into Stella's ear, almost like a purr.

"Hey to you too." Stella pressed her cheek against Motoko's neck, and the small nuzzle was followed by a gentle kiss onto Stella's forehead.

Neither of them even hesitated for a second, because the next thing they knew, they were passionately making out, wrapped in each other's arms.

Stella felt a sense of security when she was with Motoko. Not once had she ever felt this sensation, one of such love and trust. And she in turn, trusted Motoko and loved her in return.

"Are you okay with this?" Motoko suddenly asked, gently stroking Stella's hair out of her face. "We can stop if you want..."

"No..." Stella realized that she'd been letting her hands explore Motoko's body, and were currently both frozen on Motoko's ass cheeks. "I'm okay. We can do this." Stella nodded, and after a moment of thought, Motoko smiled.

"If you want me to stop, just tell me. Okay? I won't hurt you." Motoko promised her, and Stella nodded before allowing her lover to lead her over to the bed that was behind them.

Stella nodded before linking her wrists behind Motoko's neck and resuming their kiss from before.

Motoko was so gentle, so caring. Stella had never experienced a touch like this before, every single encounter she had as a sex slave had been brutally aggressive agonizing torture and humiliation.

But not with Motoko. She genuinely loved and cared for Stella. Her fingers were slow, gently caressing every inch of her skin, pointedly avoiding any obvious erogenous areas the whole time.

And her lips... they were so soft, so... perfect.

Motoko was clearly experienced at foreplay, because the next coherent thought in Stella's mind was that she wanted... No. Needed Motoko to take the next step. She must have made some sort of sound, because Motoko let out a small chuckle before separating herself from Stella's lips, smiling.

"Relax, I'm almost done." She whispered cheekily before gently licking Stella's ear, then her neck, making her way - slowly - down Stella's flushed torso, trailing more and more licks and kisses along her body until she locked eyes with Stella before licking her slit.

* * *

Stella awoke with a shuddering gasp, panting for breath as she blinked in confusion. What just happened?! Where was she? Where's...

" _Motoko_?!" Stella realized who was smiling devilishly at her, seated on the edge of her hospital bed with a cable connected to the back of her neck, which trailed along the bed to then rise up to her own neck.

"And that, my love, is just a teaser of what you can now do with a cyberbrain."

* * *

Stella was having some difficulty learning to live with her cyberbrain. Sure, she'd even gotten the chance to see her own brain matter that had been removed, floating inside of some preservatives. Hell, she'd even seen the same high tech model of the cyberbrain inside her head. But that didn't change the fact that some of the tricks, traits, and techniques were easy for her to use.

[Still having some trouble?]

Stella's entire body jolted from surprise, the data link with Motoko scared the ever living crap out of her.

[That wasn't funny.] Stella didn't have much issue with speaking over a data channel, it was processing information and dealing with her cluttered field of view that was bothering her right now. Having too much data coming in gave her a huge headache.

[It wasn't my intention to startle you. I was asking it honestly.] Motoko replied. [Don't worry, give it some more time, you'll get used to it.]

[So, what are you up to right now?] Stella asked curiously, leaning back in her chair.

[Meeting with the Chief of Police. Now that we've figured out your age, we're going over the information they've gleaned regarding your possible disappearance. I'll admit, there isn't very much to look over.]

[Somehow... I'm not surprised.] Stella heaved a vocal sigh before adding. [I think my Ghost is telling me that my disappearance went unreported.]

[It would seem that way, considering all the useless files over here. I'll relay what I've found to the Chief. You let him know about your Ghost, okay?]

[Okay.] Stella agreed, then after a moment, hummed in thought. [Remember how I couldn't recall why I recognized my Beretta?]

[I do, yes. Did you remember something about your past?] Motoko asked, sounding curious.

[My dad... I think he owned one. I can't really remember much, just that the Beretta was 'for emergencies' or something.] Stella sighed, mentally drained from the rather vague memory.

[That... actually helps us a lot.] Motoko sounded pleased for some reason. [Tell the Chief I'm pursuing another angle while I'm here.]

[Uh, okay... sure thing.] Stella quickly stood up as Motoko ended the transmission entirely. Several minutes later, Stella reported their conversation to Aramaki, who nodded in understanding.

"It would seem that the distinctive age of yours and your father's choice sidearm are a giveaway to the Major. My guess is she's checking for all Beretta M92f owners in the national firearms registry. No doubt your father will show up on that list if his Beretta is legally registered." Aramaki explained. "As for the theory about your disappearance going unreported, based on the Major's findings, I can confidently agree with the theory. We'll drop that angle unless something relevant to it turns up."

"Gotta love how antiques aren't just used for collecting dust, don't you think so, sir?" Stella couldn't help but sound very cheeky as she spoke. Aramaki caught on after a moment, and smiled shrewdly.

"Be careful, Stella... I am your boss, after all."


	15. Chapter 15

Motoko returned to Section 9's HQ with a box of paper files, placing it on the low table in the middle of Aramaki's office, where all of the members of Section 9 were waiting for her.

"Based on what Stella told me, her father only owned the single Beretta as a form of home defense. Using that criteria, I've gathered this entire box of Beretta owners across the whole country. A total of 392 Beretta M92f's are listed in the national registry, including Stella's. Her's is number 386."

"How many are just registered for the single pistol?" Togusa asked, gently lifting the lid from the cardboard box and taking the first manilla envelope from the pile inside.

"Thirty six." Motoko replied. "Stella, of course, is included in that list. So there's a total of thirty five possibilities."

"Alright, Stella, as tedious as it sounds, I'd like you to read the thirty five files, try to see if any stick out for you in any way. If they do, then you and the Major can go personally meet with the families, understood?" Aramaki ordered, resting his elbows onto his desk.

Stella nodded, taking the box and pulling it closer, beginning to read the names of each registrant that owned the model. "We might just be chasing smoke here. The gun might not even be legally registered."

Half an hour later, she'd formed two piles of the manilla folders. One was a discard pile, over twenty five files in total, and the other was the ones that seemed to stand out for her.

By the end of the files, she rechecked the ones that stood out several times over, until only three remained. All of which were in the local area.

"Finished?" Motoko had been at her side the whole time, keeping track of the names. Kuroi, Takanashi and Kotoro.

"Yeah, let's head out." Stella gathered the three files and tucked them under her arm as she followed her partner down to the underground garage, thinking about what they'd encounter with these three files. Would her family even recognize her? Would they be hostile? Would they welcome her with open arms? What about her relationship with Motoko? Would they approve of that?

* * *

The first two names, Takanashi and Kotoro were a bust. Neither of them even looked like Stella, let alone recognized her. That left the name, Kuroi, located in a middle-class neighborhood on the edge of the city.

Stella was idly checking her Beretta over during the drive. The simple connection to her past that the weapon held was enough for her to be nervous. Her previous thoughts about her family came back to mind, but she suddenly felt Motoko place her free hand onto Stella's thigh, reassuring in her gentleness.

"Relax, you said it yourself. The gun might not even be legally registered, and this is all a waste of our time." Motoko was being given directions to the residence via a data channel, and changed lanes as she spoke.

"Which would make our case even more of a pain in the ass." Stella smirked as she reloaded her gun and slid the weapon back into her holster.

"With the unpredictable aspect of your amnesia, you never know when a major breakthrough will occur for us." Motoko shrugged with a small smile.

Neither of them said much more for the next fifteen minutes. When they arrived at the apparent home of the Kuroi's, Motoko parked the car and confirmed the location before terminating the data channel.

"Last stop, then we can get something to eat." Motoko smiled as they started walking up the steps of the very traditional home.

Stella didn't even argue that fact. They'd been out checking the Beretta owners for about three hours now, and it was almost mid-afternoon by now. She was getting hungry.

Motoko knocked on the front door, noticing that Stella's eyes were narrowed suspiciously. "Something wrong?"

"Something feels... odd. Not amnesia, just... _Instinct_." Stella replied, glancing at her left arm pointedly. She was clearly referring to her hidden katana blade.

"I've grown to trust those instincts of yours... So this can't be good." Motoko pursed her lips for a moment before the sound of footsteps reached their ears and a domestic android dressed in a kimono opened the door.

"Welcome to the Kuroi household, may I ask whom is calling?" The android politely queried, staring at them both for a moment.

"Major Kusanagi, and Agent Stella, we're with Public Security Section 9. May we speak with the master of the house please?" Motoko held up her own ID, and Stella did the same.

The android quickly scanned Motoko's ID card, but when it turned it's gaze towards Stella's, it visibly hesitated for a moment, a brief expression of confusion flashed across it's face before it seemed to verify her identity properly.

"Of course, please, follow me. I shall escort you." The android nodded once before opening the door completely and allowing the two female agents to follow.

[You saw the android glitch, didn't you?] Stella immediately asked over an encrypted data channel. [Something about my ID confused the hell out of it.]

[Past experience teaches me not to overlook something like this. Is your birthmark visible in your ID?] Motoko replied before asking the question about her most identifying detail.

[Yeah, it is.]

* * *

The android lead the pair into a rather large office, and asked for them to wait there before leaving the room.

Immediately after the android left, Stella started scanning the room. Her instincts were beginning to rise, and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end as well.

[I think... I know this place.] Stella bit her lip, thinking hard.

[Let's wait until we meet with Kuroi before we go any further, okay?] Motoko knew that Stella's instincts were extremely accurate, but they needed more evidence at the moment.

"Major Kusanagi, Agent Stella. What can I do for Public Security Section 9?" The sound of a stern female voice came from behind them, and they both turned to see a woman in her early forties wearing a suit with bright white hair that covered one of her eyes.

"Miss Kuroi?" Motoko inquired, to which the woman nodded. "I'm Major Kusanagi, we've come here to speak with you about a missing girl. Are you willing to speak with us?"

"Of course, please, sit." Kuroi indicated the chairs place before her desk, which she sat behind and clasped her fingers together.

"So, the missing girl's been found in the hands of known members of organized crime, and after a month of investigations, we've been given a lead to her family. That lead, of course, being yourself. Do you know anything about a girl that went missing seven years ago? She was 12 years old at the time." Motoko explained, but her sharp eyes detected a large number of Stella's facial features in the white haired woman's face. That wasn't sheer coincidence.

"Without a picture or a description, I'm afraid I can't help you very much, Major Kusanagi." Kuroi slowly shook her head, only for her gaze to fall upon Stella, who had let out a small chuckle. "Agent Stella, might I ask if there is something amusing you?"

"You don't need a picture. Or even a description." Stella smirked, her eyes glinting in a way that Motoko had never seen before. "That missing girl... was me."

"Agent Stella, I'm not entirely sure about what you mean by that." Kuroi's rather smooth reply even made Motoko glance between the pair. She was getting the same vibe from both of them. The same type of body language, even the same expression on their faces.

"The most identifying mark, commented upon by every single one of my captors during those seven years... was my birthmark." Stella pulled her hair out of the way, revealing her distinctive star over her eye. "You've got the exact same one over your eye, hidden by your hair."

Kuroi scrutinized the birthmark for a moment, then her face contorted into a disgusted sneer. Stella took the opportunity to smirk as she lowered her hand. "Did you miss me... Mother dearest?"

It happened in an instant, even before Motoko could reach for her Serburo, both Stella and Kuroi had their respective Beretta's aimed at each other's faces.

"I see you have your father's taste in firearms... _Mato_."


	16. Chapter 16

In all her years, Motoko had no possible action or words to say that would defuse this extremely tense situation. If she went for her Serburo, she'd be shot. Same goes for saying the wrong thing... Right now, this was a battle of wills between Stella and her mother.

"Let me guess, 13 rounds in the magazine, one in the chamber." Kuroi smirked around Stella's Beretta, still not moving her own from Stella's face.

"Try fifteen, and one in the chamber." Stella smirked. "Just remember, I'm not just your daughter anymore... I'm a government agent. If you pull that trigger, you're fucked."

"And what about you? Do you have the guts to shoot your own mother?" Kuroi smirked as well, and in that infinitesimal second, their entire aura's changed.

BANG!

In a spectacular display of agility, Kuroi swatted Stella's gun out of the way, and her bullet thudded into the wall. But that didn't stop them in the slightest. With rapid strikes, blocks and counters, they continued to occasionally fire at each other until Kuroi's gun clicked empty and she tossed it aside, only to produce a knife and entered a defensive stance as Stella started laughing, still holding her Beretta in her right hand.

"You clearly haven't noticed..." Stella held up her left arm, which clicked for a moment before her fingers disengaged before retracting the metal plates and with a sharp sound of metal sliding against metal, her katana blade extended from where her hand had once been. "I'm a combat cyborg."

"No, you're a walking corpse with a knife up your sleeve." Kuroi snarled, dashing forward and clashing blades with Stella for several minutes, only to realize that she couldn't win against Stella's cybernetics. She had to outsmart her, somehow...

"Oh, did you not realize I still have three bullets?" Stella kept her gun raised while her katana was held in a defensive stance. "You just have a knife. Let's keep things civil, _Mommy_... Wouldn't want to charge you for assault, would I?"

"You've been dead to me for years. What makes you think I'll talk to you?!" Kuroi sneered, only for Motoko to stand up with her hands on her hips.

"Then you can talk to me."

"I take it you're her commanding officer at Section 9?" Kuroi narrowed her gaze at Motoko, who showed no sign of backing down.

"She's also my girlfriend." Stella smiled smugly, which made Kuroi sneer even more.

"I'm actually second in command of the whole unit." Motoko explained. "So... let's start from the beginning. You called her Mato. Is that her real name?"

"Before she ruined her life... Yes, that is correct." Kuroi slowly lowered her knife, keeping a close eye on her daughter, who hadn't retracted her blade nor holstered her sidearm.

"What do you mean by that?" Motoko asked, secretly recording the audio and video of their conversation with an encrypted data channel.

"Hasn't she told you? Where do you think she learned to fight like what you just witnessed?" Kuroi indicated Stella with a glance. "She was a champion! A prodigy! Then she got herself into one too many fights at school and ended everything! All over some stupid boy!"

"That 'stupid boy' you're referring to is actually that shithead you call your son. Y'know, the one that's standing in the doorway with a shotgun." Stella spun around and fired one round, causing the weapon to fall out of his hands. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from the shotgun." She holstered her Beretta as she spoke.

"So that fight you got into that shattered your femur... It was with your brother. Hmph. Why am I not surprised?" Kuroi sneered, crossing her arms.

Motoko glanced at Stella, she had a grimace on her face, and her right hand was absent mindedly rubbing her right thigh.

[Stella?] Motoko asked over their encrypted data channel.

[ _Later_... I'll tell you later.] Stella immediately replied just as Kuroi started speaking again.

"So, tell me, child... What's the story behind your limbs?" Kuroi taunted. "The last time I saw you alive, you were completely organic."

"I was imprisoned by a sadist. He cut them off." Stella replied shortly. "Motoko saved me."

"Motoko? Who's that?" Kuroi asked, only for Motoko to raise her hand. "So, you're the one responsible for this."

"Actually... It's all on you." Stella still hadn't retracted her katana blade. "If you weren't suck a hard ass cunt, you'd realize that life isn't all about competitions and trophies. Because at the end of the day... They're nothing more than stress and empty cups." Stella smirked. "They can't fill that void you call a heart."

"Don't go pinning your hotheadedness onto me!" Kuroi snarled, but the entire time, Stella was keeping an incredibly cool head about the whole exchange.

"Where do you think I got it from in the first place?" Stella quipped. "You, the hot shot lawyer... or timid novelist dad?"

Kuroi growled in frustration, then glanced at the fallen shotgun. "Taka, please. Put your shotgun back in the gun safe."

Taka glanced at his drastically changed sister, who stared at the weapon with a raised eyebrow for a moment before slowly nodding once at him. He dutifully picked up the weapon by the barrel and left the three women alone.

"That weapon better be legally registered." Stella grinned. "We found you by back-tracing your Beretta in the police firearms registry. It'd be a shame that our hard evidence is defied like that."

"It isn't registered to me. It is registered in his name. It's an M870 ISC Competition model." Kuroi grinned this time. "You do recall that your brother is a competitive shooter, don't you?"

"Shame." Stella shrugged. "I've finally figured out my real identity, and my family... Only to find out my mom's a cunt, my brother's a coward, and my real name is fucking stupid." She glanced at Motoko. "Well, we're done here, shall we get going?"

"That's it?" Motoko was surprised for a moment. "You're not even going to question her about what happened before your disappearance?"

"Why bother? I finally remembered it all." Stella smiled very proudly. "Besides, now that we've figured out my real name... I'm more inclined to identify as Stella than as Mato Kuroi." Stella spat out her old name with noticeable venom in her tone. "Honestly, it bothers me more that you're alive and not dad. At least he didn't deserve it." As she spoke, she idly opened one of Kuroi's address books, thumbing through the pages with her right hand. Her katana was still active, which meant she still viewed Kuroi as a threat.

"What are you saying?" Motoko noticed that Stella's tone was rather dark when she mentioned her father.

"Cunt central over here had his career ruined." Stella indicated her mother with her thumb. "And I may or may not have seen him at Uncle's brothel at one point." Stella grinned. "Then I see him later that night dead in the gutter, with a huge knife in his back." She pointed at Kuroi's abandoned knife. "That one."

"Stella..." Motoko couldn't let her go through with this. There was only circumstantial evidence for the murder. Nothing concrete.

"Just stating the facts. She can rot in hell for all I care. C'mon, let's get out of here, I'm hungry." Stella spun on her heel and left the office.

* * *

Aramaki slowly removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose as he heaved a sigh.

"At least your case is closed. A shame it wasn't handled more peacefully." He commented as Stella loaded some loose 9mm bullets into her Beretta's partially loaded magazine.

"I'm too much like my mother for that to happen. I'll admit, she's gotten quite a bit faster on the draw in all those years. She got her gun up at the same time as I did... and I'm a cyborg." Stella grinned.

"From what the Major relayed to me, your mother's clearly a skilled knife fighter. And she's clearly no rookie with a firearm either. Do you know what that's all about?" Aramaki asked curiously.

"Trophy family." Stella replied instantly. "We were all good at something or another, myself being martial arts. My brother's a competitive shooter, my mom's a champion knife fighter. My dad, may he rest in peace, wanted no part of her bullshit, and he was just a novelist until my mother killed him."

"Your proof?" Aramaki asked.

"I saw her signature knife sticking out of his back myself. It was the one she used against me in our fight." Stella indicated the only injury she'd sustained during their entire fight, a small horizontal cut on her left cheek, below her eye. Not much, but it would definitely turn into a scar later.

"Hmmm... Circumstantial evidence, at best." Aramaki sighed again. "I presume you're not pursuing the case?"

Stella shook her head. "She's not worth the trouble, honestly. Like she said to me, I'm dead to her. I'm just a ghost of the past in her mind."

"More like a dirty little secret she wanted kept under wraps." Motoko smirked from her seat. "So, what's the story about your femur?"

"My brother and me got into a fight at school, which in itself isn't surprising, but he's my mother's favourite, so he got away with breaking my leg with a chair." Stella lowered her partially loaded magazine as she spoke, the phantom pain of breaking her leg seemed to come back, so she rubbed her leg distractedly before continuing. "Problem was that I had three competitions that week, and since my mom's such a cunt, she refused to acknowledge my injury, and forced me to compete..."

"I think I see where this is going." Motoko commented before Stella continued speaking.

"So, as you can guess... when she found out I'd been disqualified due to injury, she drove home without me, and it was on my way to the hospital that I got the news that I'd been disowned from my family entirely."

"You seem to have a distinctive problem with women in positions of authority." Motoko couldn't help but make a joke, which earned a cheeky smile from Stella.

"Well... 'cept for you. You're alright..." Stella grinned before adding over a data channel. [Except in bed... You're pretty damn good.]


	17. Chapter 17

Weeks went by, Stella finally revealed the whole story of what had happened with her mother to the rest of Section 9. Batou was surprisingly angry about the whole thing.

"At the very least, you could've arrested her for assault." Batou frowned as he chewed on a cyborg snack bar.

"Since me and my mother are notoriously hotheaded within our family, it wasn't uncommon for the two of us to fight each other over stupid things." Stella rested her arm on the back of the couch she was seated on, crossing her legs at the knee. "It wasn't unusual for us to argue too. It's just how we dealt with each other."

"Sounds like you two barely tolerated each other's presence." Togusa commented.

"Well, that's one way of putting it." Stella laughed slightly. "She's still a bitch though."

"Have you considered forgiving her?" Togusa asked.

"Some people aren't worth forgiving. If she was, then yeah... Eventually." Stella shrugged. "I forgave Sinclaire, but what she did... and didn't do... I just can't do that."

"You won't know until you try." Togusa smiled.

* * *

Hours later, Stella was seriously considering speaking to her mother. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. The miserable bitch didn't deserve it.

"Stella-chan! What seems to be the matter?" One of the Tachikoma's came trudging up to where she was sitting. "Is something on your mind?"

"Yeah... It's about my mother." Stella replied, resting her chin on her knuckles.

"Oh, is she sick or hurt?" The Tachikoma sounded concerned, but Stella shook her head.

"No, she's fine. It's just something she said to me. I'm trying to figure out if I should forgive her or not." Stella admitted.

"Oh, well in that case, you should talk to her! Even if you've gotten into a fight, you can talk to her to make amends, right?"

[Motoko, am I authorized to use a Tachikoma to talk to my mother in person?] Stella asked over their usual data channel, which was always open and extremely encrypted. There were some things that the guys just shouldn't be hearing.

[Thinking about forgiving her?] Motoko replied. [You can use a Tachikoma, I'll send you the directions now.]

Stella immediately received the directions from Motoko. [Not really... I'm just going to talk to her, figure out a few things before I decide whether or not she deserves to be forgiven.]

[Are you going armed?] Motoko asked, clearly concerned.

[Well, yeah. I am still on duty.] Stella replied, approaching the Tachikoma and speaking vocally. "We're headed to this address, open your hatch." She relayed her mother's address to the Tachikoma as it spun around and she climbed inside.

* * *

Once again, her family's domestic android had a slight glitch when it scanned Stella's Section 9 ID, but she was allowed inside without incident.

"Agent Stella, may I presume you are here to speak with Miss Kuroi again?" The android asked as she slid her ID into her back pocket.

"That's right. Is she here?" Stella hadn't noticed her mother's car in the driveway.

"Yes, she is. Please, come with me to her office." The android nodded, then lead the young woman back to the fateful office, finding her mother seated at her desk with a large court file open before her and a large coffee at her elbow. "Miss Kuroi, Agent Stella has returned to speak with you."

Kuroi glanced up with a noticeable frown. "Back for another round, Mato?"

"Hardly. I'm on duty, so I have a code of conduct to abide by. What happened between us almost got me into a shit load of hot water with mine and Motoko's boss." Stella sat in front of her mother and crossed her arms and legs at the knee. "I came to speak to you about a few things that have been bothering me since we last spoke."

"Well then. It's quite unusual for you to speak your mind so civilly, considering our usual methods of resolving conflict with each other." Kuroi smirked as she closed her file and leaned back in her desk chair.

"Like I said, I'm on duty. This pertains to my missing person's case." Stella raised an eyebrow. "I want to know why you didn't file me as missing."

"Do you want the truth?" Kuroi imitated her daughter's exact expression. Stella nodded without a word. "Alright... You failed. It's that simple. And as I'm sure you're aware, I don't tolerate failure."

"If you're talking about my competition disqualification, you do realize that Taka was the one that broke my leg, right? Or did he lie about it when he got home?"

"You and Taka fought tooth and nail, every day. I've seen worse that what you two did that day." Kuroi smirked, avoiding the question.

"I couldn't walk on my own, and last time I checked, martial arts is a full bodied experience." Stella commented darkly. "A broken femur ended my martial arts career, but you insisted on pushing me to the breaking point. Even the judges asked me if I'd gotten into a fight before the competition, they'd seen me battered and bruise so often they just _knew_."

"So, what was that fateful fight about anyway?" Kuroi asked. "I gather that since your recovery, you've been an amnesiac."

"Taka tried to manipulate me, like he always does. So I had enough of his shit and punched him. Next thing I know, I'm on the ground with a shattered femur, and he's holding a bent chair over his head."

* * *

After their long conversation, Stella returned to the Tachikoma in marginally better spirits. She still felt that phantom ache in her right leg every time she spoke with her mother, but in her hand, she carried a box that Taka had given to her without a word. It wasn't very big, but it was fairly heavy for it's size.

"Tachikoma, can you see what's inside this box? I'm not too keen on opening it without knowing what's inside." She spoke to the spider tank that was idly playing with two leaves.

"Sure thing, Stella-chan!" The Tachikoma took the hard plastic box in both of it's claws and carefully examined the box for several seconds with audible thoughtful hums before finally determining what was inside. "It's a firearm, ma'am! An old one too!"

"Is it loaded?" Stella immediately asked, but the Tachikoma moved it's chassis back and forth, in an imitation of shaking it's head No.

"No, it's not loaded. There's a bunch of other pieces that don't seem to match the dimensions of the one inside the box." The Tachikoma held out the gun case. "It appears the extra parts are for a different model of sidearm entirely!"

"Let's bring it back to HQ for now. My brother's an asshole, and I don't exactly trust him, even under the best of circumstances."

* * *

After returning to HQ, Stella reported everything she'd spoken to her mother about, then explained the findings regarding the box her brother had handed to her without saying anything.

"And the Tachikoma determined that it was an unloaded firearm?" Aramaki was scrutinizing the still unopened box that Stella had placed on the low table in the middle of his office. Stella nodded.

"The Tachikoma also confirmed there are some additional parts for another type of pistol inside as well. Borma, do you think there's any possibility for a trap?" Stella had recently learned that Borma was the resident demolitions expert, so she turned to him with a glance at the box.

"Considering that the Tachikoma confirmed it's carrying a gun and some gun parts, there's not really much space to put any explosives. I think it's safe to open it." Borma gave it a practiced examination, and determined it to be safe.

"Shall we do the honors?" Motoko raised an eyebrow, since all the factors were pointing towards the gun being just a gift from her brother.

"Alright, I guess it's okay." Stella clicked open the clasps that kept the box closed, then flipped the lid open. "Well I'll be..."

"What is it? I've never seen that model before." Motoko leaned over Stella's shoulder to examine the pistol resting in the foam cutout.

"This gun's even older than my Beretta... By about sixty five years!" Stella started to laugh. When she stopped, she noticed that the added parts were actually Beretta components, in particular, they were high performance competition parts. "And these extra parts... they're for Beretta's!"

"So, what's this ancient gun?" Motoko slowly extracted the sidearm from the cutout, thoroughly examining the exterior until she found the safety and magazine release. With that, she removed the magazine and pulled the slide back to check the chamber.

"It's a Colt M1911a1." Stella grinned. "It's chambered in .45 ACP rounds. Holds seven per magazine."

"That gun's over a hundred and twenty years old!" Batou seemed highly impressed. "Hell, I haven't seen them in service myself for at least fifteen years!"

"Hmmm... that's not a caliber we usually stockpile here, since the M5's are 9mm." Aramaki commented after a moment of thought. "Stella, I'll put in a request for our ammunition supplier to begin providing Section 9 with .45 ACP ammo, unless you wish to keep the sidearm strictly for personal defense." Aramaki suddenly smiled. "I remember the days when those were the standard service sidearm for both the police and the military."

"Hey, Chief, did you have one, back in the day?" Stella asked, taking her new gun from her partner, feeling the long history in the surprisingly heavy pistol in her hand.

"Of course!" Aramaki chuckled. "I had a personal one, and I was issued one for active duty."

[It figures that the old guy would have the old gun.] Batou sent over to Stella, who smiled at the joke.


	18. Chapter 18

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Motoko, Batou and Togusa watched Stella trying out her new gun from her brother. For such an old model, it was in excellent condition and definitely performed as such.

"It holds, what...Seven rounds, right?" Togusa leaned over to Batou, who nodded.

"She's got one up on your Matever, doesn't she?" Batou teased him, which earned a bit of a scowl. "Hey, I'm noticing a trend here. Old guns just don't hold as many bullets as modern ones. Look at the difference between the Colt and the Beretta. Sixty five years, and the capacity of the Beretta is more than double that of the Colt."

"The Beretta's also a much smaller caliber than the Colt. Remember that fact." Togusa countered as Stella fluidly flicked her wrist to slide the empty magazine out of the gun and slammed a fresh one in with her other hand, snapping the breach closed and continuing to fire the rest.

"That's true with most medium and high caliber pistols. Unless the magazine's are lengthened, then the standard ones have lower capacities." Stella explained as she loaded the third magazine in the same fashion as the last two. "If I remember correctly, my brother uses M12 extended magazines for his own Colt, which of course, hold 12 bullets instead of the standard seven."

"I wonder what pistol had the highest capacity in that time?" Togusa commented aloud.

"That would be the Glock 18." Batou grinned. "Standard magazine held 33 rounds."

"That's rather excessive, wouldn't you say?" Togusa blinked in surprise, but Stella added to their chat.

"Glock 18's are fully automatic."

"Oh, okay, that makes a bit more sense now." Togusa sighed. "9mm right?"

"Yeah, and the fire rate was over 900 rounds a minute." Stella loaded her last magazine into the gun and stopped firing. She clicked the thumb safety and slid the gun into the holster that her brother had included in the box. It was on her lower back, in a horizontal grip with the gun itself upside down for easier drawing. "Enough about that. Let's see what those parts Taka gave me do to my Beretta."

Motoko had been quiet the entire time, watching Stella closely. As much as Stella tried not to show it, she was really stressed out after speaking to her mother by herself. Even though the target practice seemed to be keeping her somewhat calm, the signs were still there.

Several minutes later, after replacing all of the respective components in her Beretta with the high performance ones, the gun was now partly silver, partly matte black, and the silver grips were much more ergonomic and comfortable. Taka had also included a set of tritium night sights, a custom laser/flashlight module and a compensator for the barrel.

All in all, though slightly heavier, the gun was clearly going to perform at a much better rate than before.

Stella easily put all fifteen shots downrange, and a smile crept onto her face. These upgrades definitely improved her gun by a large margin. There was less recoil, both vertical and backwards, the gun felt generally better in her hands, and to top it all off, the laser/light module was a nice touch.

[Hey, Stella, when you're done, meet me down in the parking garage.] Motoko silently left the firing range without anyone noticing that she had left.

[Is something wrong?] Stella asked as she reloaded her Beretta and slid it into her leg holster.

[No. Nothing at all.] Motoko replied in the same vague tone.

* * *

Several minutes later, Stella scanned the parking garage for her partner, but didn't see her. [Motoko? I'm here, where are you?]

"Over here." Motoko walked out from behind a pillar. "C'mon, I've got something to show you."

"Can I get a hint?" Stella smiled slightly, joining Motoko in her car before they left HQ.

"Hmmm..." Motoko considered the request for a moment. " _Stress relief_." She admitted with a smile.

Stella felt oddly uneasy about whatever it was that Motoko was planning.

* * *

[Are you sure this is a good idea, Motoko?] Kurutan asked uneasily after hearing Motoko's bold idea.

[Weren't you the one begging to meet her? This is probably one of the best chances you'll get in a very long time.] Motoko replied, speaking over a separate data channel than her private one with Stella - which of course was still active. [In fact, if everything goes according to plan, she might even like you and Ran...]

[I don't know... maybe.] Kurutan sounded unsure, but regain her confidence after a moment. [You owe me after all of this is over!]

With that, Kurutan ended the transmission. Motoko smiled slightly as she thought to herself, we'll see about that...

* * *

Stella still felt a bit uneasy as she followed Motoko through the halls of the apartment building. It wasn't all that special of a building, in her eyes. Just a typical high rise.

"Before we go in... I have a small request, Stella." Motoko suddenly stopped and turned to face Stella with a smile.

"What is it?" Stella raised an eyebrow.

"I want you to give me both of your guns, and to disable your katana." Motoko requested, which made Stella narrow her eyes for a moment. "Trust me, it isn't my request. Otherwise I'd have told you earlier."

"Let me guess... house rules?" Stella glanced at the door they were standing in front of. Motoko nodded, so Stella sighed and unholstered both of her sidearms, handing them over to Motoko, who likewise unholstered her Serburo with her other hand. After a moment, she disabled her katana, then nodded to let Motoko know that she'd done so.

"Kurutan's a nurse, so she's not very fond of guns... for obvious reasons." Motoko explained as she knocked on the apartment door. "And Ran's a masseuse, in case you're wondering."

Stella lifted her eyebrow even further at that comment. But the next thing she knew, she had a split second to breath as her face was enveloped by a large pair of boobs.

"Oh my god, she's soooo cute!" A bubbly voice spoke from somewhere above Stella's head, and she gasped for breath as she was suddenly held at arm's length and escaped from the busty woman's cleavage trap. "So, you must be Stella! I'm Kurutan!"

Stella couldn't quite figure out what to say. Partly because she was still reeling from the momentary lack of oxygen, but also the fact that Kurutan's breasts were barely contained by her shirt and threatened to explode from their failing restraints.

"How about we go inside?" Motoko recognized that Stella was at a loss for words, so Kurutan immediately released her grip from Stella's shoulders and glanced at the three pistols in Motoko's hand.

"I've never seen these guns before. Are they hers?" Kurutan gingerly accepted both of Stella's sidearms and placed them inside a nearby cupboard, while Motoko did the same with her own Serburo. Kurutan slid the door closed with a small click.

"I like older guns. The silver one's a Beretta M92f, and the black one's a Colt M1911a1." Stella finally found her voice, just as another beautiful woman came out of a nearby door, only clad in a towel and showing obvious signs of having just showered. That sight immediately robbed Stella of her voice again, averting her gaze with a slightly embarrassed expression on her face.

"Oh, hey there. I'm Ran, you must be Stella." The woman noticed Stella standing near the door and smiled warmly. "Hey there, Motoko. It's been ages!"

"We just finished up a kidnapping case, now it's time for some R&R." Motoko winked while covertly gesturing towards Stella.

"Well then, in that case, let's get some drinks!" Kurutan spun on her heel, her breasts heaving dangerously from the sudden change in facing. "Shoes off, and take a seat, ladies!"

It was actually at this moment that Motoko and Ran realized that Stella didn't actually wear any shoes. When she noticed their gazes looking at her feet, she shrugged and said. "I have knives in my heels, remember? Shoes would just get in the way."

Motoko gave an understanding nod, but Ran raised an eyebrow. "Knives?"

With a sharp click, Stella's heels lifted straight up about four inches, giving the impression that she had a pair of high heeled shoes on. She lifted one foot to show off the sharp blades that extended from her heels.

"What next, claws?" Ran laughed slightly, only to realize that Stella was slowly nodding her head. "Oh goodness, really?!"

"I also have a full katana blade in my left arm." Stella held up her left hand, likewise extending her short claws before retracting all of them and following Ran and Motoko into the apartment were Kurutan was almost finished preparing a tray of cocktails.

"So, Motoko, what can you tell us about the kidnapping case? Are the media permitted to report anything about it?" Kurutan asked over her shoulder as the three women took their seats.

"The media doesn't even have a syllable of the story." Motoko smiled. "But someone has the whole story, all you have to do is ask."

"Stella?" Ran and Kurutan both wore surprised expressions as they regarded the youngest woman.

"You might want to make a few more rounds of drinks... This is going to be a bit of a long one." Stella smirked before she started retelling the whole case.

* * *

 **A/N: Kurutan (pronounced Curtain) and Ran are both from the Ghost In The Shell manga. They also briefly make an appearance in SAC. Also, fun fact: All of the chapters for this story (I've written a total of 32 as of this upload) are actually named... I'm just to lazy to put the names into Fanfiction's system when I update each chapter :P**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: In response to a recent Guest review: Honestly, I only just realized that mistake when you pointed it out. I dunno, maybe I tapped B instead of V on my keyboard without considering the differences or whatever, since they're right beside each other. I'll keep that in mind next time I mention his gun.**

* * *

Stella finished her drink just after she'd finished explaining the whole story. Ran and Kurutan had been on the edge of their seats as she talked, and Motoko had been sipping her drink in total silence, a tiny smile on her face.

"So, now that you've started working with Section 9, do you think you'll ever reconcile with your mom?" Kurutan asked.

Stella shook her head. "I don't think I can do that... Not yet."

"Kurutan..." Motoko spoke quietly, glancing at Stella for a moment. "Their relationship's rocky... at best."

"Speaking of relationships..." Kurutan had a suddenly mischievous smile on her face as she leaned closer to Stella. "How's it going with you and Motoko? Need any help figuring out her secrets?"

Stella's eyebrows immediately shot straight up, her expression completely shocked by the question. Thankfully, Motoko smiled and gave an explanation.

"Kurutan and Ran are my friends... with benefits."

"What the hell does that mean?" Stella's sapphire blue eyes glinted with a strange sparkle, despite her narrowed glare.

"Well..." Motoko lowered her empty cocktail glass and sidled right up to Stella's side, and leaned right up to her ear, whispering. "They're my friends, and we sometimes have sex. It's not like our relationship, by any means."

The strange glint in Stella's eyes disappeared, but her eyes seemed to narrow even further. "So let me get this straight... you're friends, yet you have sex..."

"Totally platonic. We know better than to interfere with your relationship with Motoko." Ran took a sip of her second drink. "But... that doesn't mean we can't share Motoko once in a while, right?" She added with a teasing smile.

Stella couldn't help but feel territorial over Motoko, and it must have shown in her body language or her expression, because Kurutan and Ran suddenly smiled with amusement.

[Can I ask what it is that's stopping you?] Motoko asked via their private data channel.

[I hardly know them... Seems a bit brazen to say that.] Stella replied. [I'm just... not really not very comfortable with the idea just yet.]

Motoko said no more, but nodded in understanding.

"So, Stella. Do you mind if I asked you one last question before we let Motoko take the lead with her little plan?" Kurutan smiled very mischievously as she imitated Motoko's pose on Stella's other side, intentionally pressing her large breasts into Stella's arm.

"Motoko..." Stella spoke glaringly to her partner, who smiled innocently. "Alright. Fine, one more question."

"Do you like Motoko?" Kurutan immediately asked, still smiling at Stella while pointedly pressing her chest against her arm.

"No." Stella replied flatly.

Motoko already knew what Stella was going to say, even before Ran and Kurutan had even gasped in shock.

"I don't _like_ her... I love her." Stella finished her sentence with a cocky smirk, which earned a loving kiss from Motoko.

"I knew you'd pull that trick." Motoko whispered into her ear before switching to their data channel. [Can you give Ran and Kurutan a chance? If they make you feel uncomfortable, we can leave. It's up to you.]

Stella took a few seconds to consider her request. It wasn't like Ran or Kurutan were trying to interfere. Even Motoko made it clear that their relationship took priority over both of them.

"Alright... Motoko. I'll give them a chance. So what the hell did you mean by ' _stress relief_ ' when you drove us here?"

All Motoko did was smile knowingly before winking at Ran.

* * *

"I've never had a real massage before, I just want to put that out in the open..." Stella admitted as she complied with Ran's request for her to undress.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Ran smiled warmly. "But there is a first time for everything."

"Have you disabled all of your blades?" Motoko was seated beside the massage table that had been laid out for Stella.

Stella glanced over at the data screen she'd allocated specifically for her blades. The small square screen was located right below the circular screen for the private data channel with Motoko.

Katana: Disabled. Retracted.  
Heels: Disabled. Retracted.  
Claws: Disabled. Retracted.

"All of my blades are offline." Stella reported as she reached for the hem of her tank top and pulled it over her head.

"Except for your cyberbrain, your limbs are your only cybernetics, right?" Kurutan asked, positively drooling over Stella's surprisingly toned torso. She nodded. "Mmmm... lovely."

"I do five hundred push ups a day, and a hundred sit ups. You should try it, Kurutan." Stella noticed Kurutan drooling over her impressive abs.

"Alright, Stella, do you mind laying on your stomach, please?" Ran gestured to the massage table, already prepared for her.

Stella crawled onto the table, then laid prone, trying her best to relax. It was just a massage, it's not going to hurt. It'd be alright.

Ran gently put her hand onto Stella's shoulder, giving her a reassuring but gentle squeeze before starting her task of giving Stella a massage.

Stella's breathing eventually slowed down, and she closed her eyes. Ran was really good, all of the tension in her back and shoulders was washing away by the second...

"I think she fell asleep." Kurutan leaned to the side, amusement creeping onto her face as she glanced over at Motoko, who was connecting a cable to the back of her neck.

"Well that just makes things easier on the three of us." Motoko smirked. "Are you two ready?"

"Are you sure she's going to be up to this?" Kurutan asked as she connected her own cable into the back of her neck and reeled in the other end, poised to insert it into one of the four ports on the back of Stella's neck.

"I already told her to give you two a chance. If she's not comfortable with it, then she has total authority. If she says No, then we can't argue." Motoko explained as Ran finished with Stella's massage and prepared her own cable before gently brushing Stella's hair out of the way.

"Ready?" Ran and Kurutan were already poised to link into Stella's cyberbrain, but they were just waiting on Motoko.

"Let's do it." Motoko nodded as they all simultaneously inserted the cables into Stella's ports.

* * *

It only took Stella about ten seconds to realize that Motoko had linked with her. She found herself laying on the bed of the same circular bedroom from their first direct link, back at the hospital.

"I figured you'd do this, Motoko." Stella sat upright in the bed, glancing over to see that it actually wasn't Motoko seated beside her. It was Kurutan. "Oh... Kurutan."

"Don't worry, I'm here too." Motoko spoke from right behind Stella, and she turned to see Motoko laying on her side in her usual leotard-like outfit. "Ran's on your other side."

"So what were you planning this whole time?" Stella wasn't stupid. She could tell by Motoko's obvious confidence that it was all her plan from the start.

"It's quite simple." Kurutan leaned closer to Stella, her breasts jiggling in a very enticing manner. "We..."

"Are completely..." Ran started to crawl seductively towards Stella, a coy smile on her lips.

"Yours." Motoko finished off their sentence, at the same time that all of their outfits vanished, including Stella's. "Tonight, you are the Mistress, and what you say goes."

It was pretty obvious by Stella's expression that she'd never been in a position of authority like this, in any context.

"I uh..." Stella had no idea what to do. She'd been the one following these types of commands for years... To suddenly have the tables turned on her like this was an expected shock.

"Stella, remember what I told you..." Motoko reminded her, but Stella shook her head.

"I'm okay... I just... don't know where to begin." Stella bit her lip - rather cutely - before admitting. "I've been gangbanged before, but it was a bunch of men..."

"Oh don't worry... This isn't like that." Kurutan smiled. "All of the attention is for your pleasure, not the other way around."

"You're still the center of attention, in both cases." Ran added with a twinkle in her eyes. "So, what shall you have us do... Mistress?"

Stella's eyes glinted with determination. She wanted to go ahead with this, she just didn't know the path to take...

" _Kya_!" Stella's eyes suddenly widened in surprise as Motoko snuck up behind her and blew cold air into her ear.

It was that adorable sound that spurred Motoko into action. Both of them knew that Stella wouldn't really object if Motoko made the first move.

Like always, Motoko took her time and made absolutely sure that Stella was comfortable with what they were doing before doing anything new. She started by gently running her fingers along the armour plates just above Stella's knee, paying particular attention to the back of her knee.

Of course, Stella's leg twitched in reaction to the instinctive sensation, but she hummed with approval, her hands gripping the bedsheets slightly.

Ran and Kurutan caught on quickly, and after receiving a nod of consent from Stella, they joined in with the tactile teasing, which earned an almost immediate sigh from Stella.

A single bead of sweat trailed down Stella's forehead, and her breathing was quickly becoming audible. She had no objections to let them proceed at their own pace... for now.


	20. Chapter 20

"You three have a very odd definition of 'stress relief'... Not that I'm complaining or anything..." Stella commented as she reached up to her neck and pulled the three cables out of her ports.

Stella was mentally exhausted after their sexual escapades inside of her head. It had definitely help with her stress from the encounter with her mother, and Ran's massage had been absolutely fabulous... But all she wanted to do now was sleep.

"How do you feel now? Better?" Kurutan asked, letting out a satisfied sigh that made her breasts jiggle yet again.

"Tired..." Stella's eyelids were starting to droop. "Your boobs are big enough to be pillows, y'kn..." Stella didn't even manage to finish her sentence as she simply passed out.

* * *

Motoko laid with Stella curled up on her chest, watching her sleep with a warm smile on her face. She was so cute when she slept, like there wasn't a single concern for her in existence.

[Are my boobs really as big as she says?] Kurutan palmed her well endowed chest with both hands, looking dejected.

[Considering that she's almost completely flat, yeah, they're pretty big.] Ran teased her, a huge grin on her face.

[You did nearly strangle her in your cleavage when we arrived, y'know.] Motoko smiled, glancing over at Kurutan, who was still fondling herself.

[But she's so cute! I just want to hug her, and play with her hair, she's like a little princess..!]

[If memory serves me correctly...] An amused voice suddenly joined in on their data channel. [The way I dress is my own version of a gothic style. I'm not a princess, by a long shot.]

[Stella! You're awake?!] Ran and Kurutan were surprised to hear her voice in the line, despite all three of them staring right at her sleeping form.

[Just because my eyes are still closed doesn't mean I'm still sleeping.] Stella replied before opening her eyes with a smirk. "Hey, Ran... I just want to say you're really good at your massages. I feel great now. Thanks."

"Anytime you need a rub down, just let me know." Ran smiled warmly.

"Alright, when you're feeling up to it, we need to go back to HQ. Chief only gave me permission for a few hours of leave." Motoko gently nudged Stella, which warranted a sigh from the younger woman.

"How long were you three inside of my head?" Stella couldn't help but sound sassy as she spoke.

"A little over two hours." Motoko smiled before gently kissing Stella's forehead and switching to their private data channel. [You're mine tonight. Just you and me, okay?]

* * *

On their way back to HQ, Stella and Motoko suddenly received an urgent data channel message from Aramaki. [Ladies, return to HQ immediately. There's an urgent meeting concerning a new case.]

[Anything you can say now, or is it one of those cases?] Motoko asked as she started driving a bit faster. Stella glanced at her Beretta as Aramaki gave his reply.

[Major, it's one of those ones.] Aramaki sounded grim. [You'd better step on it.]

"Copy that..." Motoko adopted a straight face, expertly weaving through traffic as Stella started to chuckle.

"One of those ones, huh? Sounds like fun." Stella checked her Colt's chamber with a huge grin on her face.

"You don't know the half of it..." Motoko sighed.

* * *

Stella and Motoko arrived in record time, and assembled in Aramaki's office with the rest of Section 9. Aramaki cleared his throat before gesturing to the briefing screen. "What do you all see here?"

Everyone stared at the still image of an opened weapons crate, showcasing a weapon that was surprisingly similar to a grenade launcher.

"Prototype weapon." Stella spoke first, her eyes narrowed. "At first glance, it seems to resemble a grenade launcher, maybe a missile launcher."

"You're correct, Stella. It is indeed a prototype weapon. But it's not explosive, nor is it conventional ballistic."

"So what is it?" Batou asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm sure you're all familiar with the three states of matter: Gas, solid, and liquid... Well, there's another one."

"Plasma." Stella perked up suddenly, surprising even herself by knowing the answer. "Are you saying that weapon's a plasma cannon?!"

"Precisely. And it was just reported stolen by the company that developed it." Aramaki nodded, then leaned forward. "I want everyone on this case. Right now, Major and Stella investigate the scene. Ishikawa, Borma, you're on data analysis. Togusa, Paz, you question the personnel at the facility. Saito, Batou, you're on backup. The Major's in charge from here on out. Get going, we have no idea what that cannon's even capable of."

"Reminds me of that runaway tank incident a while back." Batou commented as everyone got up and filed out to attend to their task.

"Let's hope things go as smoothly as they did back then." Motoko replied as Stella raised an eyebrow about it.

"Runaway tank?"

"I'll tell you on the way to the scene..." Motoko smiled before teasing Stella. " _Rookie_."

* * *

Stella and Motoko arrived at the scene, flashing their Section 9 ID to get past the police line. They'd arrived in Tachikoma's, so the one that Motoko had driven accompanied them into the large facility, while Stella's remained on standby outside.

Once they entered the building, they were met with an older man in a suit, roughly in his mid forties, and an administrative android stood at his shoulder.

"Major Kusanagi and Agent Stella of Section 9. Fill us in on the situation." Motoko announced the moment they'd noticed the two women approaching with the spider tank.

"Our prototype weapon, code-named the 'Rock Cannon', was found to be missing from the lab where it had been placed after a test firing exercise last evening. If you'll follow me, ladies, the scene has been untouched since the discovery."

"The Rock Cannon, huh? Doesn't really sound like what you'd expect for a plasma cannon." Stella commented to the Tachikoma as they followed the adults.

"I dunno Stella-chan... Isn't a Colt the name of a stage of maturity for male horses?" The Tachikoma replied, to which Stella shrugged.

After a few minutes, they reached the scene of the theft, which was a rather unassuming pneumatic door like the rest of the ones they had passed.

"Alright, Stella. Let's put your training to work. Tachikoma, you're on security footage. Cross-reference any activity with security logs and personnel's work schedules."

"Roger that, Major!" The Tachikoma was escorted to the proper location by the admin android, leaving the two women with the middle aged man.

"If I may, shall I join you inside, for questions you might have?" The older man clasped his hands together.

Motoko glanced at Stella for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, but need I remind you that tampering with a crime scene is a felony and has severe consequences."

"I'm aware. I assure you, it is entirely for your benefit. I'm Doctor Ikezawa, the lead developer of the Rock Cannon." He held out his hand for Motoko to shake, then once she did, he offered it to Stella.

Stella glanced at his hand, her instincts warning her that his cheerful aura wasn't all that it seemed. Something wasn't right.

[Motoko...] Stella immediately warned her partner about the instinctive feeling. [I'm getting a bad vibe from this guy.]

[Instincts?] Motoko replied, glancing at their pointedly brief handshake out of the corner of her eye.

[ _Oh yeah_... And he's kinda familiar. I can't quite put my finger on it.] Stella replied before releasing his hand and following Motoko inside the lab.

* * *

The Tachikoma was presented with the security center's main camera databank, and dutifully got to work with collecting all of the applicable footage and logs that Motoko had requested. It extended the data cable from it's claw and inserted it into the correct port, then got to work reviewing the lab's footage from the night after the reported test fire.

"Wow, this Rock Cannon's surprisingly small compared to the photograph we were provided back at HQ..." The Tachikoma commented after scanning the prototype weapon's dimensions. "Why it looks like it's small enough for Stella-chan to mount onto her arm! Maybe even IN her arm, like Mr. Batou's Arm Launcher!"


	21. Chapter 21

Stella examined every possible angle of the storage container for the Rock Cannon. It was in pristine condition, aside from the fact that it wasn't resting on the shelf at the same rigid and uniform placement as the rest of the storage containers.

"Motoko, it looks like the container was taken off the shelf when the theft happened." She indicated a faint dust line that showed the proper orientation. "Wouldn't that mean the thief was in a rush, or maybe even interrupted at the time?" She lowered herself to rest on the balls of her feet, giving the disturbed dust a closer look.

"Excellent observation, Stella. Let's hang onto that theory for now, let's see what else we can find while the Tachikoma handles the security footage." Motoko had a tiny smile on her face. What Stella had noticed wasn't something she herself had even noticed.

"Agent Stella, that's an excellent observation. All of our prototype weapons are handled by high precision robots, to minimize potential mishandling or accidents by human hands." Ikezawa had stayed near the door with his hands tightly clasped behind his back.

"Are your prototypes unstable or dangerous?" Motoko glanced at the scientist, who shook his head slightly.

"Oh goodness, no. They're still in developement, so certain components lack the durability to be handled without great care. The Rock Cannon, in particular, is named as such because it's actually one of the most durable designs we've created yet."

"So, aside from being tough, what's so special about this Rock Cannon of yours?" Stella glanced over her shoulder at the scientist as she spoke, still trying to recall where she'd seen him before.

"Unlike other attempts at harnessing the power of lasers or plasma, the Rock Cannon isn't actually the source or even the original concept." Ikezawa explained. "Consider it like an unloaded firearm. Without ammunition, it is useless as a weapon." His gaze fell upon the two sidearms that Stella carried, but she quickly stood up and turned towards him with narrowed eyes.

"In that case, where do you keep the ammunition for the Rock Cannon?" Stella asked, putting both hands onto her hips. "Whoever stole the gun can easily come back for the ammo. Then we'll have an even bigger problem, wouldn't you agree?"

"Stella, I'll go secure the ammunition. You stay here and see what else you can find." Motoko gently put her hand onto Stella's shoulder. "If you'll please escort me, Doctor."

"Right this way, Major Kusanagi." Ikezawa quickly left the lab with Motoko at his shoulder.

[Stella, call your Tachikoma. I don't like the idea of you being alone.] Motoko warned her via their private data channel. Stella didn't even argue that fact, since she felt the hair on her neck rising from the sudden silence.

Within two minutes, the blue spider tank that had been on standby came rolling up to the lab and leaned inside. "You called, Stella-chan?"

"Motoko had to check something else out. She wants you here as my backup. C'mon inside before that creepy doctor comes back."

"What creepy doctor?" The Tachikoma trudged inside and regarded the young cyborg out of concern.

"Doctor Ikezawa. I don't know why, but I think I've seen him before... And he's making me feel really uncomfortable." Stella finally had the privlege of speaking her mind about the older man. "I think he was staring at my ass the whole time he was in here with us."

"Why would he do that, instead of looking at your face? That isn't exactly good manners, is it?" The Tachikoma pointed out as it scanned the room. It knew that this was Stella's first case, so it was gathering a 3-D scan of the room for her own references. Sometimes, Motoko would do the same, so it felt right to do that.

"He's an old pervert. Probably the closest to a woman he's been in a while was when the two of us walked in. Old fucker got to stare at Motoko's rack and my ass. I'm surprised he didn't bust a nut by now..." Stella scoffed at her comment, but she was struck by dawning realization. She finally knew where she'd seen him before!

[Motoko! I think I know where I've seen Ikezawa before! He used to come into Uncle's brothel on a regular basis. Every Sunday morning, at the exact same time. Always the same twin sisters. He was super rigid about his schedule, and by the look of things here in his lab, he's still a bit of a stiff about it.] Stella examined the room one last time before humming in approval. [And I think I just found something rather useful for the case...]

Stella extended her katana blade, gently using the tip of the blade to lift a rather different looking paper note from the scattered documents on one of the desks. "Gotcha!"

[Have the Tachikoma scan it, we've bolstered the security for the ammunition until we're cleared to transport it out of the facility. Just waiting on the Chief's verdict from the CEO.] Motoko sounded pleased. [As for Ikezawa, there's nothing we can do. Your case has been officially closed, Miss Kuroi.] She couldn't help but tease Stella about her real name.

[I also think he's been staring at my ass and probably your tits the whole time we've been here. Not that I can blame him, you do have a fabulous rack.] Stella teased right back as she carefully unfolded the note and read the threat letter. "Oh for fuck sake!" She scowled before turning to her Tachikoma. "Scan this and send it to HQ. Ikezawa's been lying to us. I knew it."

"Yes, ma'am!" The Tachikoma immediately followed the order as Stella caught the sound of Motoko and Ikezawa returning.

[I found a paper threat letter. He knew about the theft the whole time. Letter was addressed to him.] Stella reported as she retracted her katana just in time for them to enter the room.

"Stella, did you scan and send it to HQ?" Motoko asked, surprising Ikezawa slightly since as far as he knew, Motoko had been talking to him the whole time.

"Yes, I did. There's not really anything else to glean from here. How's the Tachikoma doing with the security footage?" Stella replied, noticing that Motoko had a pleased smile on her face as she flexed her fingers a few times. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable when she used her katana, but she still needed to do it instinctively.

"Should be finished shortly. Once it's finished, we can regroup with everyone else and see what we've learned so far." Motoko nodded before glancing at Ikezawa. "If you don't mind, could you supply Section 9 with the weapon's specifications and any test results so we know what we're dealing with if the weapon is loaded? Our security measures are only temporary, and we need government approval before we can relocate them to a more secure facility."

"Of course, the terminal to your left, Agent Stella. That's the one we stored all the data on the Rock Cannon." Ikezawa indicated the computer terminal near where she was standing, so he joined her at the terminal and brought up the relevant data. She leaned forward to read it, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Ikezawa had taken a small step backwards and to the side, so that he had a perfect view of her ass without making it seem obvious.

"Hmph..." Stella finished reading the data a few minutes later, then extended a data cable from her pocket, inserting one end into her neck and then inserted the other end into the terminal, then began to copy the weapon data. "You can stop staring now, Doctor."

Ikezawa made a small sound of surprise, immediately glancing up at Stella's face, only to realize she wasn't impressed.

"Don't worry, I get it. My ass is fabulous, I'm well aware. But you've had your fill, and now you need to look at what's currently on the back of my belt." Stella smirked.

Ikezawa glanced up slightly from her ass to realize that she was referring to her Colt. "Y-yes, ma'am... I understand." Ikezawa immediately locked his gaze onto her face. "My apologies, ma'am."

"You're not the first man to do it, and you won't be the last." Stella turned back to the terminal screen to check the data's progress. "I will give you credit though... You haven't tried to touch me. You'd be dead if you did though." Stella's voice darkened with her last sentence as a sadistic smile crept onto her lips.


	22. Chapter 22

After leaving the slightly traumatized scientist, Stella and Motoko regrouped with the rest of Section 9 at HQ, and together detailed everything they'd gathered and done. In particular, the note that Stella found had the threat of an additional robbery, this time for the ammunition for the weapon.

After each pair finished, Aramaki leaned back in his chair, thinking hard.

"So, Major... What exactly did this Rock Cannon's ammunition look like?" He asked, regarding his second in command curiously.

"Honestly, they look like large batteries. Roughly the same size as a grenade launcher round." Motoko held her index and thumb apart to show the approximate size. "They're stored in crates by the dozen. I counted thirty crates when we secured them until we get approval for transport."

"I'll speak with a contact of mine in the government, she should be able to get us approval for transporting the ammunition to a secure location." Aramaki nodded, but then Stella posed a legitimate question.

"Why not use the ammo as a trap for the thief?"

"Actually..." Motoko suddenly had an idea. "That's not a bad idea, Stella."

"What are you thinking, Major?" Aramaki rested his elbow on the armrest of his chair, putting his jaw on his knuckles.

"We could use decoys, maybe empty the crates, but leave them behind with only a few rounds to make it seem plausible. Lure the thief into the open, then we can capture them." Motoko explained.

"Alright, sounds like it would work. I want you, Batou, Stella and Saito to be the ones defending the decoys. The rest of you will handle the transportation of the rest of the ammo. Get to work, that threat letter said the ammunition would be stolen 'right under the noses of the police'."

Stella knew that Motoko's plan was sound, but for some reason, she couldn't shake the instinctive feeling that something would go wrong. Even for her normal instinctive feelings, this one felt... different.

In fact, it felt worse...

* * *

Later that night, Motoko regarded her readied trap with a careful eye. She would be in the storage bay providing close-range observation of their trap, Stella would be outside the doors in case of a direct entry. Batou was guarding the most likely entrance from the rooftop, and Saito was on sniping duty, watching the exterior of the building from another rooftop. All of them were in full loadouts, and Stella was rather impressed by her own gear.

Aside from her two sidearms and her M870, Stella wore a set of body armour that was very unlike the ones that the rest of her team wore, since they were differently cyberized than her. Her body armour was made of the same black titanium-based alloy as her limbs, and it was designed to protect every single remaining piece of flesh she possessed. Of course, it was compatible with her Therm-Optic camouflage, but she wasn't using it right now. The place was silent as the grave, and the distinctive humming would give her away more than if she just stayed still in the darkness. The armour also had a full helmet, but Stella wasn't wearing it right now, it was sitting on her lap.

[Sound check. Any activity?] Motoko called over the team's open channel, momentarily breaking from Stella's boredom.

[Negative on roof. I haven't even seen any birds.] Batou reported in, sounding even more bored than Stella.

[Minimal pedestrian traffic outside of the building. No activity in the parking lot either.] Saito reported right after.

[Hallway, clear. Nothing but me and my thoughts.] Stella reported, letting out a near silent sigh.

[Interior, clear. Nothing to report.] Motoko finished off their sound check and continued with her silent patrol of the storage area.

* * *

A few hours later, Stella was still keeping an eye on the hallway while she chewed on an energy bar she'd tucked into a spare pouch on her belt. It wasn't really much, but it was enough to keep her awake and somewhat occupied to pass the time.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she detected a flicker of movement. She immediately turned her gaze in the direction of the movement, but saw nothing. She'd been alone in the dark for several hours, and it seemed her eyes were beginning to play tricks on her.

She took another bite of her energy bar, and just as she started to chew, she felt a sharp sting at the side of her neck that instantly made her feel incredibly weak.

As her eyes closed against her will, she couldn't even muster the mental strength to inform Motoko via their private line. She thudded to the floor with a barely audible groan.

* * *

An unknown length of time later, Stella awoke with a vicious snarl, her hand going first for her Beretta, then for her Colt. Neither were in their holsters... hang on...

It took Stella a moment to realize that her usual weapons display under her private line with Motoko had a new addition. Her eyes widened in sudden realization that the usual list of blades now showed 'Cannon: Enabled. Loaded. 12/12 Charges Remaining.' right at the bottom of the list.

Stella slowly looked at her left arm, and found her usual black cybernetics. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but just to be sure, she activated her katana with the usual mental command, and it obeyed without issue.

"I knew it was in your left, Miss Stella." A familiar voice spoke from nearby. "I saw you flexing your fingers after I heard that lovely sword of yours retracting earlier today."

"Ikezawa... What have you done to me?!" Stella was beyond angry. She hadn't even checked her right arm yet. She just knew that the Rock Cannon was in her arm now.

"Regardless of my answer, you're mind is made. I know what your next course of action is, and I've prepared for everything. I just hope you enjoy your new... toy."

"I AM NOT SOME GUINEA PIG FOR YOU TO FUCK WITH!" Stella yelled at the man, her voice echoing in the room. "I'VE BEEN THROUGH SOME SHIT THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR STOMACH TURN, YOU FUCKING PERVERTED FAGGOT!"

"Enlighten me, my dear." Ikezawa stepped forward, a cruel smile on his face. "I've seen things too, girl."

"You freak... You try being a sex slave, and having your arm and legs cut off ' _for fun_ ' and still have to service the same fucking monster that did that to you!" Stella already had enough of his shit, his cocky smirk was just adding fuel to the fire as she raised her newly augmented arm. "If you can top that, you can live... But you'll be going to prison if you do."

"I cannot. You may fire when you are ready. I will not stop you." Ikezawa shook his head, and Stella didn't even let him smirk before she fired the Rock Cannon.

* * *

Motoko and Batou both heard the cannon blast, and they ran to find one of the lab doors blown off it's frame, covered in blood and a huge scorch on one side and clearly dented from a powerful force. They both aimed their M-23's inside, only to find Stella seething with rage and she repeatedly stomped her heelblade into Ikezawa's mutilated chest, his head having been shot clean off by her Cannon blast.

"Stella...?" Motoko handed Batou her assault rifle, and very slowly and carefully approached Stella, noticing right away that her right arm had been changed by the scientist. "Stella, can you hear me?"

Stella was still furious, but when Motoko gently wrapped her arms around Stella's shoulders, she stopped stabbing the corpse and started crying.

"He put the Cannon into your arm... didn't he?" Motoko asked quietly, already trying to comfort her distraught lover. Stella didn't stop crying, but nodded in acknowledgement. "Looks like the case is closed. You did good, Stella... It's going to be okay." Motoko felt a small tear of her own stinging at her eye as she spoke.


	23. Chapter 23

Aramaki himself came to inspect the aftermath of the incident. After some convincing from Motoko, Stella allowed him to review the exchange between herself and Ikezawa in her cyberbrain. Not even Motoko had seen it.

After he'd finished, he gently placed his hand on the shoulder plates of her armour and smiled at her. "You did a fine job, Stella. I think you should get some rest, for now. We can deal with the debriefing some other time."

"Chief... What about my arm? The bastard integrated the Cannon directly into my cyberbrain." Stella had long since recovered her other weapons and her helmet, and at the suggestion from Motoko, disabled all of her internal weapons - for now - until she as in a better headspace.

"What about it?" Aramaki smiled. "I do recall you saying at one point you wanted a weapon like this. You've even admitted you're a combat cyborg. What's the harm in giving yourself some more firepower, hm?"

Stella laughed very slightly at his reassurance. "So it's mine now, huh?"

"I'll get the company under our wing. Don't you worry about that. You just rest for now, it's been a long night for you... In fact, you and the Major can have tomorrow off. I expect you both in top shape the next morning, is that clear?"

"Thanks, Chief." Stella smiled a little as Motoko helped her stand up after being hit with the tranquilizer dart.

[The Chief doesn't usually give days off, even in the best of circumstances. You've been through quite a bit for your first full case.] Motoko commented as they got into her car and both breathed huge pent up sighs of relief.

[I'm still alive, uninjured, and I have a new weapon augmentation. Only downside is how hungry and tired that I am... So I think today's been long, but rewarding.] Stella replied, closing her eyes as Motoko started driving them back to their safehouse.

[So what's first? Sleep or food?] Motoko asked.

[Food first, but I don't really think anywhere's still open at this hour.] Stella cracked one eye open as she pulled her pocket watch out of her pocket. It was just past 1:30 AM.

[Don't worry, I'll order some pizza.] Motoko smiled slightly. She arranged her data differently than Stella did, but she always had a clock on her permanent display, which she knew that Stella absolutely refused to do. Something about that pocket watch...

[What the hell is pizza?] Stella opened both eyes, staring at Motoko in confusion. [It better taste good, after all the shit that happened today...]

Motoko's smile widened at Stella's surprisingly naive statement. Even discounting her captivity, she'd somehow managed to get through life without knowing what pizza was...

* * *

After they got back, Stella was rather quick to remove her armour and got into the shower, leaving Motoko to order the pizza while she was occupied.

Compared to Ran's amazing massage from that afternoon, the hot shower was only just enough to bring her into a more comfortable state of alertness. She cleaned herself up and shut the water off. She grabbed the shirt she planned to wear, which was rather unusual among her wardrobe. It was a black button-up dress shirt that was intentionally two sizes too big for her. She wore it with the top two buttons left undone and the wrist buttons open as well. Other than that, she only wore a pair of panties and dried her hair off in record time.

Just as she came out of the shower, she detected the extremely delicious scent of the pizza that Motoko had ordered, and glanced in the direction of her lover. She was standing in the doorway, speaking to a teenage boy that looked like he was a few years younger than her.

The boy seemed to catch sight of her over Motoko's shoulder and Stella noticed from several feet away that the boy's gaze was immediately drawn to the tantalizing hint of her thighs between what he assumed were stockings and her oversized dress shirt.

He immediately glanced around awkwardly as Motoko counted out the money for their order. Without even looking up, Motoko smirked and stated point blank. "She's a lesbian, you don't have a chance in hell. Keep the change." Motoko handed over the money and closed the door with a very satisfied smile on her face as they both heard the delivery boy sigh in defeat.

Stella was visibly struggling to keep a straight face, but next thing she knew, she was laughing so hard she had a stitch in her side and tears in her eyes.

"He wasn't even good looking! I think you just shattered that kid's entire existence!" Stella managed to speak between bursts of laughter.

"You've been oogled over by an old pervert, then that same old guy shoved a prototype weapon into your arm, and then you shot his head off with it and proceeded to use your heelblades to try and give him some very crude open heart surgery. I'm sorry Stella, the last thing you need right now is a penis within your vicinity."

Stella lifted up one of the soft drinks from their order with an impressed smile as she toasted Motoko's speech. "Here's to having great tits and a fabulous ass!"

"Cheers!" Motoko smiled as she took the other drink and tapped the cans together before they opened them and started to eat their pizza on the couch.

* * *

While they enjoyed their meal, Motoko had an idea for how best to... entertain themselves afterwards. So, with a glance at her TV, she silently began to hack into it, immediately muting the speakers without Stella noticing. She quickly scrolled through the channels and immediately found a rather steamy lesbian porn movie and a smile twitched on her face for a moment as she let the movie start.

"Hey, Motoko... Where exactly does pizza come from? It doesn't feel like it's Japanese cuisine." Stella was comfortably curled up against Motoko's side, examining her half eaten slice of pizza curiously.

"Italy." Motoko replied, smiling. "Although, this particular type of pizza is an American creation. Pizza from Italy has a more... refined concept. For one thing, Italian's eat it with a fork."

"That's foreign countries for you." Stella took another bite of her slice with a smile. "Can't fault them though... This tastes great."

"I can't help but notice that you're rather open minded about things like this." Motoko commented, glancing at the porn movie to keep track of the progress until the sex scenes started appearing.

"Taka's the one that's close minded. All he really gave a shit about was guns and practicing his marksmanship. Just him, a paper target and his guns." Stella explained. "Me, on the other hand... I had to deal with people a lot more. Both in the ring and out of it. Not to mention my near constant fights at school... So I kinda gave up on centering my knowledge about things solely on my fighting. I strived to learn at least one new thing at least, every day... Until everything went sideways, obviously." Stella smirked. "Although... Technically I learned every single kink known to man... and woman... during my captivity. People have some fucked up fetishes, I can tell you that."

"I'm a police officer, I have seen some things you know." Motoko admitted.

"And I probably did them all, at one point in time." Stella smirked. "Not gonna lie, I did secretly enjoy a few of them."

"Care to enlighten me on some of them?" Motoko leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Anything fun?"

"I'm not stupid, y'know." Stella leaned in just as close and whispered very cheekily. "I've seen this porn movie before. It's tame compared to the shit I'm going to do to you the second we get inside my head."

"And this is why I love you." Motoko smiled as the cable clicked in place into the back of Stella's neck, Stella smirked as the dive initiated, quickly tossing her pizza slice onto her paper plate a split second before she lost her motor functions.


	24. Chapter 24

In the morning, Stella awoke in an absolutely fabulous mood. She quickly got herself showered and ready for the day at hand, deciding for the first time to dress the way she wanted, rather than her slightly modest wardrobe for working with Section 9. She honestly didn't mind the recommendations given to her by Motoko - who was rather notorious for that damn leotard outfit - but it was her day off.

So, with a smile, Stella zipped up her black leather corset and smirked as she felt the familiar tight embrace of the risque attire. Next she decided that it was time to ditch her usual short shorts in favour of some sexy tight black leather pants. Honestly, these pants had been Motoko's choice a little while after her kidnapping case had been officially closed. Stella knew she'd chosen them because the pants made her already amazing ass into something of a god send.

Finishing off her intended femme fatale outfit was one of her few sets of footwear, in this case they were her knee high combat boots.

Satisfied with her ensemble, Stella stepped out of her room and saw that Motoko was still asleep through the crack in her door, so Stella grabbed a pen and a notepad, and wrote out a quick note to let Motoko know she'd already gone out for a little bit.

Placing the note out in the open where Motoko would find it, Stella grabbed the helmet for her new motorcycle - she'd gotten her license during the past few weeks - and made sure that she had her Colt and her Section 9 badge on her before pulling the helmet and her leather biking jacket on and left the safehouse.

* * *

Stella pulled to a stop at the firing range that she knew for a fact Taka still trained at. It was a respectable gun range, and she did recall that the owner was an older man, a veteran of the last World War, that had been a skilled sniper. Who knows, maybe he would remember her?

With that in mind, she dismounted her bike and strode right inside, in all of her sexy leathery goodness.

* * *

Seated at the front desk was an administrative android and the grizzled old vet himself, seated with a newspaper in one hand, and a pen in the other, clearly doing the daily crossword.

"Lieutenant Dan Holoway?" Stella stopped in front of the desk, which immediately drew the old man's gaze to the young woman before him, his bushy eyebrows raised.

"How'd you know my name, missy?" He regarded her shrewdly. "I haven't been called that since the end of the war."

"You were my brother's trainer while he was just starting out in competitive marksmanship. You might not remember me, I'm his hotheaded sister."

"You mean Takashi Kuroi?" Holoway's eyebrow rose even higher. "It's been two years since I gave him a lesson, but yeah, I remember you. Lot of folks thought you'd died, Mato."

"I go by a different name now." Stella smiled. "My new name's Stella."

"Well then, Stella... What can I do for you?" Holoway put his newspaper down and sat upright in his chair. "You here to do some shooting on the range?"

"As a paying customer, of course. Just because we know each other doesn't mean I'm not willing to pay for your business services."

"That badge on your hip tells me you're not just here for fun, Stella." Holoway smirked, noticing the tell tale folded ID wallet on her belt. "So are you a detective...?"

"If you must know, I'm with Public Security Section 9. And no, it's nothing to worry about. It's my day off today and I thought I'd visit an old friend." Stella flipped the badge and ID open, showing the old veteran the proof of her employment.

"Alright, so... What'cha want to shoot today? I got a few package deals, or you can just rent a firearm. If you have your issued sidearm with you, then I can sell you some ammunition if you'd like."

"Got any 12 gauge shotguns?" Stella smirked, glancing at the android that was handing over a registration form. "And out of curiosity, do you have a training course or just a basic range?"

"We have both. Which one do you want to do first?" Holoway smiled at her obviously experienced enthusiasm.

"I'll go with the course first, I'll use a 12 gauge and my own sidearm. Gonna need to buy some .45 ACP from you, and a couple boxes of shotgun shells." Stella pulled her wallet out of her jacket's inner pocket and started to count out her money.

* * *

After a few runs of the rather tame training course, Stella was greeted with some applause from the gathered onlookers that had been watching her run the course with ease. She could hear some people whispering about two things; First, who she was, like a cop or a soldier... and two, how sexy her ass looked in her leather pants.

While Stella was on the firing range, she spotted some civilians nearby that were comprised of equal numbers of boys and girls. It appeared that the boys were trying to convince some of the girls to fire a 12 guage. Two had cameras in hand, almost certainly recording as they argued with the intimidated girls.

"Oh c'mon, one shot! Just one shot, it won't hurt you." One boy was trying to get the first girl to take the shotgun, but she shook her head.

Stella fired her last loaded shell, then slowly lowered the weapon to lean against the firing station. She slowly turned to face them, waiting for the right moment - or comment - before she took any action.

"Don't be a baby! I've shot this thing so many times!" They boy argued, but the girl quite clearly stated that she didn't want to do it. And that was just the comment that Stella needed.

Without a word, she marched right up to the rather misogynistic boy, grabbed the gun from his outstretched hand, pumped a shell into the chamber, then proceeded to empty the weapon downrange. The moment she fired the last shell, she smoothly dropped the scattergun and whipped out her Colt, once again emptying the magazine at the same massacred paper target before she started to lecture the stunned teens surrounding her.

"Consent is the mutual acceptance of one's actions, the willingness to continue with a current course of action. You, small boy, don't seem to understand that the words 'I don't want to do that' mean to fucking stop what you're doing. That is a violation of a basic human right, and just so you know, you might have fired it and know how to compensate for the recoil, but it's evident to me that none of these girls have enough experience with firearms at all to even be here on a gun range. You shouldn't be forcing yourself to appease these immature little boys, my lovely ladies. You've voiced your concerns and they failed to understand them. However, if you do wish to continue learning to use firearms, might I suggest using something smaller and easier to manage, such as a Serburo M5 9mm pistol? If you want to try a larger weapon, might I suggest a nice M-23 assault rifle?" Stella smirked as she regarded the girls while reloading her Colt with a fresh magazine. They all seemed enraptured by her skill and sassy speech.

"Hey, aren't those both government issued guns?" One of the boys with the cameras asked, the only one that had recovered from the initial shock of seeing the super hot chick in the sexy leather outfit just empty a shotgun - and pull a pistol out of no where - like it was nothing.

Without a word, Stella grabbed her Section 9 ID and flipped it open, which earned a shocked gasp from all of the teens as she returned to her firing station, grabbed her rented M870 and left without another word.

* * *

After leaving Holoway's gun range, Stella pulled up to a red light on her bike, resting her foot on the ground the moment she'd stopped. A moment later, a very expensive looking sports car rolled up beside her, revving the engine in a very obnoxious manner several times until she turned her helmeted head to the side to see what was clearly a rich boy behind the wheel with an equally stuck up looking woman in the passenger seat. He winked cockily at her, then revved the engine, which Stella knew was a taunt to try racing him. The girl laughed as Stella scoffed behind her helmet visor, once again holding up her badge, which immediately silenced the girl's obnoxious cackling laughter and seemed to make the boy shit his pants.

The stoplight turned green and Stella smiled as she calmly drove away, the sports car still sitting at the light, accompanied by the sound of car horns honking behind the two scared aristocrats.

* * *

Stella returned to the safehouse after a quick lunch, finding Motoko had been waiting for her when she felt that tell tale click of the data cable connecting with the back of her neck the instant she walked in the front door.

[So... How was your morning?] Motoko teased as the link immediately initiated.

[I went and saw an old friend. How about yours?] Stella replied, a smile tugging at her lips as she just barely managed to close the door behind herself with her foot before they both dropped to their knees on the floor.

[Terrible. I woke up all alone.] Motoko replied as they both opened their eyes inside of their favorite circular bedroom.

"Looks like I'm going to have to apologize... won't I?" Stella smiled as she started to kiss Motoko's neck. "Will you forgive me?"

Motoko smiled before sassily holding up the handcuffs they'd been using the night before, letting them dangle from her index finger. "Maybe... Only one way to find out... Miss Mato Kuroi."


	25. Chapter 25

After their much needed day off, Motoko and Stella were just about skipping when they arrived at Section 9's HQ the next day. They'd both definitely enjoyed their day off together, and brought their good mood in with them, all of the men - except for Togusa, it seemed - had rather gloomy expressions when they arrived.

"What's wrong with the boys?" Stella smirked. "Did you guys miss us that much that it ruined your night?"

"Well, sweet cheeks, I had my Arm Launcher recalibrated yesterday... Twice, and I'm still having a few problems." Batou grumbled, idly rubbing his right arm where the weapon was hidden.

"Wrong person to be complaining to, big guy." Stella smirked knowingly as she immediately deployed all of her weapons; Rock Cannon, katana, and her heel blades shot her height straight up the usual four inches, which put her at an almost equal eye level with the large cyborg... Almost. "I think my gun's more of a reason to be complaining."

"But you got a day off." Batou grinned. "Want to put your money where your mouth is?"

"I'll see you on the training floor." Stella winked as she walked away, disabling both of her arm weapons, but left her heelblades active which gave her footsteps a sound that was rather reminiscent of proper high heels... Just a bit more metallic.

* * *

"Just remember, Stella... yours is still a prototype. We haven't had time to review the footage and data about the tests that Ikezawa and his team did." Aramaki commented as he handed over a fresh power cell for the Rock Cannon. "We've only got the aftermath evidence from when you used it to kill Ikezawa himself."

"Well, I can say that even with my cybernetics, the recoil is insane." Stella smiled as she took the power cell. "And just so you know, Chief... I get twelve shots from these cells. My weapons system has an ammunition counter."

Aramaki didn't quite understand what she meant at that moment, but he smiled and said. "Are you saying that each of these power cells aren't one shot capacity?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Chief." She winked as she turned around and joined Batou, who was loading the last few of his custom missiles into his Arm Launcher. "You ready, big guy?"

"Don't worry, Stella-chan... I'm ready. I just hope you're ready to lose." Batou smirked as the weapon cycled a missile into the firing position and Stella followed suit, activating her Rock Cannon yet again.

Unlike her katana blade, activating the Rock Cannon was rather surprising to witness. Firstly, her hand split apart between her ring and middle fingers, then the armour plates on her forearm disengaged from their locked positions, splitting apart for a pair of rails to suddenly line up with her separated hand, which then slid them both straight to her elbow, where it reformed to 'grasp' her elbow. After that, one more armour plate slid into a final position at the underside of her forearm, and the last step was the Rock Cannon's barrel extending about eight inches from the 'stump' of her wrist.

"So, your Cannon's got twelve shots per cell, right? And Chief just gave you a fresh one, so I'll be nice to you. I take it you still have eleven shots in the current cell, so we'll only have eleven targets. Sound good, hotshot?" Batou raised his arm as Stella did the same.

"How many missiles does your Launcher hold?" Stella asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Twenty. It's a dual drum system, so each one holds ten." Batou tapped the raised panels of his cybernetic arm. "You ready yet?"

Stella simply glanced at their matching rows of standard wooden targets that they'd trained on for ages. She scoffed, then aimed her Cannon and let out a single blast, the distinctive whine-like charging sound rising before the loud bang of the weapon discharging. Her arm was knocked straight backwards, turning her torso slightly as the plasma exploded and took out all of her closely placed targets, some of which were smoldering from the blast.

"Shit..." Batou didn't even fire, he just retracted his arm's panels and pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed her what was quickly becoming their usual monetary bet. "I forgot your Cannon shoots plasma."

"To be fair... your Launcher can lay down more suppressing fire than my Cannon. I just point, shoot, and fuck shit up." Stella folded the money and slipped it into her pocket. "Recoil's a bitch too." She smiled as she reverted the Cannon back inside of her arm with the same realignment of her proper anatomy.

* * *

Later, just as both Motoko and Stella's amazing moods were beginning to tail off, Aramaki called them in for an emergency meeting for a new case. That made Stella smirk as she turned to her girlfriend and asked. "So what's the next toy I get to play with? Do I get a chainsaw this time?"

"I'm more concerned with where you're going to put it, rather than what it is." Motoko smiled as they walked into Aramaki's office.

[I dunno, it might fit between my ass cheeks.] Stella commented via their private line before both devoted their attention to Aramaki for the new case.

"We don't have much time. As we speak, there's a cyber robbery taking place. Local police requested Section 9 to come in and assess the situation before S.W.A.T can assault the building."

"What information do we have available to us?" Motoko went into full Major mode, and Stella smirked as her lover took charge.

"Four hostages, minimum. There may be more inside that are unaccounted for. That they know of, there's at least six criminals inside, and they'd come prepared for an assault. Confirmed multiple assault weapons on each of the men, and all have body armour." Aramaki relayed the report he'd received, giving Motoko a small nod. "Looks like we're dealing with professionals."

"Then we're going to have to show them what real pros can do." Motoko smiled before turning to Stella and Batou. "Since you two have all the heavy firepower, I think a little shock and awe is in order, don't you agree?"

Batou and Stella spared each other a glance before simply smiling with glee.

* * *

Inside of the building, all of the men cradled their assault rifles and kept an eye on the hostages they had captured. Some of the men were also keeping an eye on the data vaults they were breaching. They still had a few minutes left before they were inside, but they could already hear police sirens outside of the building.

"Sir! We've found another hostage trying to escape out the back entrance!" One of the men assigned to patrol the building. He was tightly gripping the black haired girl by the hair, his grip high on her head, and she was gritting her teeth in furious defiance.

"Intel only said the staff was here. What's a kid doing here?" The leader growled in annoyance.

"What have you done to my mom!?" The girl snarled, clearly a feisty catch as she tried to free herself from the grasp by grabbing the man's wrist. "Get the fuck off of me!"

With a resounding smack, the leader slapped the girl's face, which instantly stopped and silenced the girl. "I must apologize for using such force, we came here without the intention of harming you, your mother, or any of her co-workers. We're only following our orders to acquire some sensitive data."

"Wait! Sir, look at her hands!" The one restraining her indicated the girl's hands, which were still grasping his wrist.

"Cybernetics, huh?" The leader gently grasped her hand, indicating that his subordinate release her. "As I'm sure you've noticed, my men are rather forceful. I do mean it when I say I'm sorry."

"Your goons have an interesting way of doing their job." The girl scowled, for some reason allowing herself to be gently - and surprisingly politely - lead to take a seat with the rest of the hostages.

"Now, all I ask is you take a seat. Like I said, I wish you no harm." The leader gave a slight bow before turning to his assigned technician that was breaching the data vault. "Progress report?"

[Motoko... I'm in. They have single man patrols throughout the building. I saw four men along the way from where I was. Right now, I'm seated with all the confirmed hostages. None are harmed, and I'm fine. The leader of the group's quite the gentleman... But honestly, I did deserve the slap he gave me. I got a bit too mouthy.]

[Did they find your gun?] Motoko asked, concerned.

[I got slapped, not frisked.] Stella replied. During the drive to the building, Stella had revealed that her thigh's armour plates were actually partially hollow. She'd shown Motoko that her Beretta actually fit inside the empty space, and all it took to open the armour was simply lifting the armour plate away. [We're just waiting on Batou to raise a little hell.]

[That's entirely on you. You're our inside woman.] Batou spoke up, since their plan involved him blasting his way through the front entrance, where they knew that six of the men were holed up. Saito was providing sniper support, and Borma was going to assist Batou with the assault. Motoko was on standby at the back of the building, where she'd assisted Stella in getting inside to fool the men.

[Then you, Batou...] Stella visibly smirked as she disengaged the locks of her thigh plates, gripping her Beretta out of sight of the guards. She clicked the safety off as she said. [Are very fucking late...]


	26. Chapter 26

The office that the hostages were gathered in suddenly shook with the distant sound of an explosion, followed by the suddenly sporadic chattering of gunfire. Stella immediately smiled as the mercenaries started to form an improvised defensive barricade and some cover using the desks and some chairs.

"Police assault! I want the hostages put in an area that's out of harms way. Not a single one of them are to be injured by any means!" The leader stared marshaling his men, organizing the worried staff members and Stella to take refuge in another room, keeping the door wide open so that potential mistakes were minimized.

"You've done this before... and things went sideways, didn't it?" Stella carefully kept her Beretta hidden behind her thigh, regarding the leader curiously to retain the ruse... For now.

"Actually, I was a hostage at one point. Those particular men weren't as disciplined or polite as me and my men." The leader was affixing a ballistic mask to his face as he spoke. "We're only here for the data, like I said."

"What's so special about this data you're after?" Stella glanced at the data vault over his shoulder, where their hacker was still busily working his way inside.

"Honestly, I don't know the particulars. I'm just a hired gun sent to do some dirty work. What I can tell you, is that I'd been hired by some hotshot woman that didn't take kindly to my response when she said to use force."

"You refused the demand for force, because you've been through it yourself... I can respect that." Stella truly meant what she said. It wasn't part of her facade, it was how she honestly felt.

"Now, please, find your mother, I don't want you getting caught in any crossfire." The leader gestured for her to enter the sanctioned room, but Stella smiled as she spotted Motoko's camouflaged silhouette standing right behind him.

"I already did." Stella grinned as she and Motoko sprung into action, quickly disarming and restraining the leader. "Public Security Section 9! Lower your weapons and release the hostages!"

Suddenly faced with a dilemma, the men exchanged glances before their leader - quite calmly - stated. "All units, stand down. This job's our last. Surrender to the police, and don't fight back. I hope that woman understands her mistake."

* * *

Stella was actually rather impressed by the effective takedown of the mercenaries. Aside from the assault to distract them, nobody had been hurt. Batou took a few small grazes during the firefight, but other than that, there wasn't a single death.

"Excellent work on your first infiltration, Stella. If you don't mind, I'd like to speak to you about that genius idea you had to conceal your sidearm." Aramaki spoke to her in person as they escorted the handcuffed men and the scared hostages out of the front entrance.

"I think I know where this is going, Chief. I'm gonna have to think about having another surgery this time. It'd be what, my fifth?" Stella asked, having lost track of the number of major operations she'd gone through - both legal and illegal - in the past few months.

"At the very least, will you hear me out?" Aramaki asked, understanding her position on the matter.

"If what I think you're suggesting is true, you liked my little idea, and have deduced that my leg can be modifed to properly carry my pistol inside, which would eliminate the need for me to have two openly carried pistols... Right?" Stella explained, to which Aramaki nodded in silence. That had been his idea all along. "Like I said, I'm gonna have to think about it. I'll get back to you when I make up my mind... Sir."

"Very well. Now, after you finish up here, turn over the scene to the local police, then submit your mission report. You did good today, Stella." Aramaki turned and walked away, leaving her to finish her tasks.

* * *

"So... A hidden holster inside your leg, huh?" Motoko smirked after Stella detailed the suggestion from the Chief.

"Turning an improvised trick into a legitimate feature, I guess." Stella replied, gently tracing the tip of her index finger along Motoko's bare thigh.

Right now, they had linked with each other after returning home to the safehouse. As per usual, they were inside of Stella's head, in the same old circular bedroom that was the setting for many a loving embrace.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's stopping you from accepting the idea? It wouldn't be that much of a procedure. Just a couple parts added, and some new cyberbrain connections." Motoko actually enjoyed the sensation of Stella's aimless caressing.

"See, that's the thing. I know that it's not much more than the usual maintenance we have to receive. In fact, I could probably do the procedure my damned self... It's just..." Stella paused to gather her thoughts, which likewise paused her finger for a moment before she kept going. "It would be my fifth procedure to change or modify myself. Admittedly, the first three were the essentials... The first time for my severed limbs, then the secondary one for my arm... My cyberbrain, for obvious reasons. But then look at the weapon augmentations. Not necessary... but I wanted those. The Rock Cannon was non-consensual, so that's a load of bullshit by default." Stella held up her right arm as she mentioned the unwanted modification, then lowered it again. "Now, this one... the hidden holster. I just... want to have a reason - in my own right - to justify the need to conceal my gun like that."

"Well, put it this way..." Motoko carefully placed her palm onto Stella's thigh in imitation of what Stella herself was doing. "Hypothetically... if you were disarmed of your firearms, your Cannon's power cell was depleted, and your blades either broken or disabled... What would be your course of action to apprehend a target?"

"I wouldn't be able to apprehend the target. I'd be forced to put myself into further danger should I even attempt it unarmed." Stella immediately replied, her gaze becoming suspicious. "So you're saying..."

"Hidden holster." Motoko nodded. "Now, add that criteria to the same scenario. What do you do now?"

"Drawn the hidden sidearm, and proceed with standard takedown protocol." Stella answered right away. "Look, I see the application. But... I don't know. I'm just not quite ready for another procedure. Not yet."

"That's all I needed to hear. Now, speaking of being ready... I have a question about this dive simulation you've been using since your cyberbrain surgery." Motoko indicated the circular bedroom. "I've wondered where you got the design from, but at the same time, I've wondered why it's so simplistic."

Motoko had a point, so Stella rolled onto her back, then sat upright while Motoko raised herself up onto one arm, regarding the room with a curious eye.

"I can fuck with this simulation however I want, right?" Stella glanced around the room, taking in the empty space. Even with their usual bondage and sex toy instances, the objects they used simple manifested from nothing, and at the same time, their outfits going into the link would either be manually removed by each other, or simply vanish.

"We are inside your head, after all." Motoko smiled. "But, just to be safe, I should disconnect from your simulation while you do the editing. I haven't been inside one during the process, so I don't know if I might be affected in a negative way."

"Before you go..." Stella grasped Motoko's fingers for a moment. "Next time... can we... um..."

"Of course. I'll prepare my simulation just for you." Motoko knew what Stella was requesting. She wanted to see what her own simulation was like, instead of visiting Stella's like they usually did. "You just promise me that you finish modifying this one first. Deal?"

"Of course." Stella seemed excited by the prospect, and Motoko nodded before holding up a finger.

"Before I do leave, do you want me to carry you back to bed, or should we just stay on the couch as is?" She smiled, since they'd linked while relaxing on the couch... right after a steamy make out session, of course.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you." Stella nodded, then when she blinked, Motoko had disconnected from her simulation, leaving her to stare at her mental bedroom with a determined smirk. "Time to get to work..."


	27. Chapter 27

Not much happened for Section 9 for the next several days. Stella and Batou used the majority of their time devising a new training program for the next batch of recruits, while Motoko and the Chief dealt with some meetings with some government officials. It wasn't particularily busy or stressful, but at least it kept them occupied to a degree.

Of course, during her spare moments, Stella would do a self-dive, and continue working on modifying her simulation. She occasionally took inspiration from design data she came across from interior design sites from the internet, but for the most part, she arranged everything to her own taste and needs.

During one such spare moment, Stella had one of the Tachikoma's on standby with her, so that in case someone needed to speak to her while she was doing the self-dive, she could come back to the real world and address them properly.

That, of course, also meant that the Tachikoma could keep her company as she worked on the project.

"Stella-chan! The Major's back! She's trying to talk to you!" The Tachikoma suddenly informed her that Motoko was there, but just before Motoko could get the chance to link with her, she came back with a couple blinks before regarding her lover.

"How goes the renovations?" Motoko sat down beside Stella and crossed her legs at the knee.

"I've finished the overall structure of the simulation, right now I'm dealing with the new furniture. After that, I have some dynamics and default items to add in and place before doing some finishing touches on a few things. Should take me another two or three sessions to finish." Stella replied, stretching her back, which had gotten slightly stiff from lack of movement. "How was the meeting with the Chief?"

"Well, I don't want to bore you with all the politics and names, but overall, it didn't go very well. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either." Motoko explained.

"One of those meetings, huh? Hmph, glad I'm not the one dealing with that." Stella lifted up her leg, planting her foot on the edge of the seat and resting her forearm on her raised knee. "I just help train the rookies and shoot the bad guys. I'm not quite cut out for the political crap like you are."

"We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Give it time, the only way to develop skills like that are to overcome the obstacles set before you." Motoko spoke quite sagely, which made Stella giggle for a moment.

"I'm 19, I'm still not very politically inclined to begin with, and I have a reputation as a hothead. I'd be completely useless in a government meeting like that." Stella smirked. "Not to mention I have a rather... dark past."

"You never know... Maybe one of these days, that temper of yours will save the day. We won't know until it happens." Motoko smiled before standing up. "Well, I'm going to hand in my report to the Chief. If you've got something else you're working on, I'll see you after..." She turned to Stella with a sly smile. "But if you're free... I'd like to show you something I got for you."

Stella immediately pulled out her pocket watch. She wasn't exactly needed... in person. If she had to, her and Batou could just talk via a data channel. "Sure, what is it?"

"Come with me." Motoko's sly smile was now accompanied by a twinkle in her eye as she took Stella by the hand and lead her to the break room, which was where each member of Section 9 had a small locker to themselves. Of course, Stella had hers filled with a small stockpile of both ammunition types for her guns, a few snack items and a blade maintenance kit for her blades. New to the small cache was a few spare power cells for her Rock Cannon.

Motoko opened her locker and reached inside, pulling out a jewelry box, which immediately caught Stella's eye. Neither of them really wore any form of jewelry, unless you counted their respective watches as such. Motoko wore a small, thin steel wrist watch on her right hand, while Stella - of course - had her pocket watch attached to her belt.

Motoko stepped behind Stella, gently kissing the exposed skin along her neck and shoulder before Stella saw a glint of silver pass before her eyes and a small weight fell against her upper chest.

It was a necklace. A small silver star hung from the elegant chain.

"Okay... I know I've been doing good on my recent cases, but what's the deal?" Stella waited until Motoko connected the clasp before turning around to stare at her in shock. "What did I do?"

"Does it matter?" Motoko smiled before gently turning Stella's face to kiss her lovingly, both of them linking their arms around each other.

"It kinda does..."

The reaction was almost instantaneous, Stella and Motoko shot backwards away from each other, turning to face Batou in the doorway.

"Buzzkill." Stella glared at Batou, surprisingly pissed about the interruption.

"You do know what the Chief's gonna say, don't you, Major?" Batou commented to the silent woman.

"What if I told you he already knows?" Motoko stared right back at him without even a hint of hesitation.

"In that case, I should apologize for interrupting." Batou sighed before holding up both hands in surrender before turning and walking away. As he left, Stella could hear the sound of him lighting a cigarette.

"Fuck." Stella grumbled to herself after she couldn't detect the sound of his movements anymore.

"I told the Chief ages ago." Motoko gently wrapped her arms around Stella's waist from behind, resting her chin on Stella's shoulder. "It was when he started to laugh that I realized he pretty much knew there was something between us."

"Do we really make it that obvious?" Stella asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well, no. But the Chief's got good intuition. A lot like your instincts, in fact. So, when we had a spare moment, he called me into his office to talk, and he asked me if there was anything going on between us that he should be aware of." Motoko explained. "I told him that there was, and gave him what he needed to know. Nothing more."

"What exactly did you tell him?" Stella asked, thoroughly unprepared for the answer she was about to receive.

"That I love you. Nothing else." Motoko gently kissed Stella's suddenly burning cheeks with a smile.

(LINE BREAK)

Later that evening, after they'd left HQ for the day, Stella and Motoko were lounging on the couch, watching a movie on TV while they ate some popcorn. Stella of course was wearing her oversized dress shirt and no pants. She also was laying with her head on Motoko's thigh, utterly content with their current arrangement.

"So... Is the Chief cool with us being together?" Stella suddenly asked, to which Motoko nodded.

"Did I ever tell you about the business trip he and I went on to London?" Motoko smiled knowingly as she recalled the events over in England. She actually still had the souvenir wine tool she'd purchased at the time.

"Where's London?" Stella's curiosity was suddenly piqued, and she stared at Motoko keenly.

"It's in England. Over in Europe." Motoko smiled. "So, do you want to hear the whole story or just the good part?"

"Whole story, this actually sounds really good." Stella smiled, nestling herself a bit more comfortably against her lover, already prepared for some storytime. 


	28. Chapter 28

"Y'know... I learned a few things here and there about quite a number of vices from my former occupation. Wine was a rather common one among many a meeting between Sinclaire and her associates." Stella had her glass of wine gently pinched between two fingers, a sly smirk on her lips as she regarded Motoko across the table.

"Of that, I have no doubts." Motoko was likewise smiling, dressed quite differently than usual, as was Stella. She had already drawn many gazes walking in - as did Stella - thanks to the elegant red dress she wore. Stella, however, had opted for her signature leather ensemble and surprisingly added an application of dark but tasteful black makeup, including black lipstick. Motoko, on the other hand, had chosen a classic scarlet instead.

All around them, the high class restaurant echoed with the sound of classical music and low conversation. The contrasting lovers were seated near the back at a private table, away from prying eyes and judgmental whispers.

Stella may lack the life experience that Motoko had, but they both recognized the vastly heterosexual presence in the building. Same-sex relationships had been legal worldwide - and mostly accepted - for the past twenty years, but there were still some that didn't agree, even after all that time.

"So tell me... What do you think of the wine tonight, Miss Kuroi?" Motoko couldn't help but tease Stella as she inhaled the scent of the red wine with a raised eyebrow.

"Merlot Red." Stella smirked upon recognizing the scent. "Hmmm... I do believe this is a 1994?" Stella took a small sip, savoring the wine as she evaluated it. "Oh, I was wrong. It's the '89."

Motoko smiled warmly. Stella was right, it was indeed a bottle of Merlot Red from 1989. "Well done. So, tell me... Where do you see yourself in five years?"

"In bed, with you." Stella replied coyly. "After an intense night of passionate, loving sex."

"You, my love, are quite insatiable." Motoko giggled at the subtle joke. "So, how's the legs working for you? Are the holster augments still giving you any trouble?"

Stella shook her head as she sipped more wine. "I had the mechanism calibrated by Proto, he said some of the components weren't aligned correctly. Other than that, everything's in perfect order."

"That's good to hear." Motoko smiled. "Now, I do believe it's time we started to enjoy our date, rather than just talking about work and sex."

"Can't have a good date without some hot sex afterwards, Motoko." Stella winked as they finally decided to start eating their meals. "My simulation's finally done, just so you know."

Motoko's expression immediately changed to a mixture of curiosity and approval. "Well, in that case... A promise is a promise." She smiled before whispering seductively. "I'll see you at my place then."

* * *

When they got back to the safehouse, Stella allowed Motoko to take off her stiletto's while she herself readied the data cable for their link. She was excited to see what Motoko's simulation looked like, and - no thanks to the glass of wine they'd had during their date - a little bit giddy.

"You coming?" Motoko asked teasingly, gesturing Stella over with a seductive smirk and a curl of her finger.

Stella smiled as she pointedly straddled onto Motoko's lap, the tight fitted leather outfit accentuating her every curve as Motoko linked her wrists around Stella's lower back and Stella did the same around Motoko's neck.

With the tell tale click, the data cable in her hand was in place, and the last thing she saw before the dive initiated was Motoko leaning forward to kiss her with that same warm smile she always wore, just for her.

* * *

"Chief, apparently the Major told you about her and Stella. Is this true?" Batou asked, his arms crossed and his expression serious.

"Yes, it is." Aramaki replied, stern as always.

"Well, you do know what this means for the unit, don't you?" Batou asked. "Having a personal relationship like that could backfire... for both of them."

"I'm well aware of the repercussions of that. But this doesn't concern you, Batou. After everything that Stella has gone through in her life, I think it's rather lucky that she chose the Major to be her romantic partner. You did read the Major's final report on the case, didn't you?" Aramaki raised an eyebrow at the cyborg, who scowled.

"'Except under certain context and between individuals she deems trustworthy, Stella still exhibits a noticeable social anxiety towards members of the opposite gender'... In other words, Stella is scared of men. And by no right should we interfere with her and the Major. You've made your feelings clear to me, but to put it rather bluntly... you need to man up. Consider yourself lucky that Stella even trusts you to begin with, Batou." Aramaki gazed sternly at the man, who sighed in defeat.

"Alright..." He grumbled as he turned to exit Aramaki's office, only for Aramaki to ask a rhetorical question.

"Isn't is a good thing to see them happy together?"

After Batou left, Aramaki waited several seconds before he let out a long exasperated sigh. "I wonder how long Stella can maintain that happiness when she finds out that the Major's completely cyberized?"

* * *

Stella plucked the data cable out of Motoko's neck, utterly satisfied by their fabulous sex session. She was about to get off of Motoko's lap, but Motoko suddenly tightened her grip around Stella's waist, holding her fast.

"And where do you think you're going?" She whispered coyly.

"Aren't I hurting your legs?" Stella asked, concerned. She knew she didn't weigh _that_ much, but it was still a concern.

"No, I'm alright. You don't need to worry about that." Motoko gently kissed Stella's neck along the jugular. "You're not heavy at all. Not even with your cybernetics."

"How much are you cyberized?" Stella asked curiously.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Motoko asked, still kissing Stella's neck at random, from the collarbone to her ear. Stella nodded, so Motoko smiled, then gently nibbled onto Stella's ear, whispering. "More than 95% of my body is cybernetic."

"That's... a lot." Stella wasn't quite as surprised as Motoko expected. "What about me? What's my percentage?"

"You're 55% cyberized. Even that's a lot of cybernetics." Motoko teasingly licked Stella's earlobe. "The only organic part of my whole body is a fist sized clump of my brain."

"I had a feeling your tits were fake... I never knew they were THAT fake." Stella joked, holding Motoko's face with both of her hands under her jaw. "Not that I give a shit. I love you, and since we're both cyberized, our percentages don't really matter, do they?"

"Y'know... You're exactly right, Miss Mato Kuroi." Motoko smiled as Stella started to kiss her, unchanged by the revelation.

"You're one of the very few people that know my real name... But you're the only one that's allowed to call me that without getting their ass kicked." Stella smirked between kisses.

"Even your mother?" Motoko couldn't help but confirm the question that came to mind with Stella's comment.

" _Especially_ my mother."


	29. Chapter 29

"I see... Yes, of course. The money's being sent to your accounts as we speak. The police? They won't get involved if you follow the book. Yes, I am serious. I know it's not in your favour right now, but you need to look at the bigger picture instead of worrying about right now." Kuroi was holding her desk phone against her ear with her shoulder, busily typing at her computer with both hands.

Stella was no longer escorted by the family android, and the strange glitch it had every time it saw her was a conflict of internal identification. It was the same android from before her disappearance, so it knew her as both Mato Kuroi AND Agent Stella. According to her mother, Stella's new identification was a modified combination of both aspects of her identity. Mato 'Stella' Kuroi, using her Section 9 code-name as an official nickname in her identity.

"No, no... There's no need for that. Just take it day by day, I'll see what I can do on my end to fix this mess. Alright, I understand that it was a failure, but not everything like that will succeed without at least a few hitches." Kuroi glanced up upon realizing her daughter was flickering back into sight as she disabled her Therm-Optic camouflage. "Okay, we'll talk later. I have to go... No, I'm not brushing you off, it's for personal reasons. Goodbye, ma'am."

Kuroi hung up the phone and sighed. "To what do I owe this visit from Section 9?" She kept typing for a few more moments before saving her work and tenting her fingers together on her lap to regard her smirking daughter.

"I'm off duty. So you can relax." Stella had already come to recognize the initial stigma of having a job as a cop, so she waved her hand to accompany her words. "I wanted to speak to you about something else."

"Something else?" Kuroi raised her eyebrow.

"Something personal." Stella spoke quite flatly, narrowing her eyes.

"Am I speaking to you as your mother, or as legal counsel?" Kuroi leaned back in her chair, resting her elbow on the armrest with her hand raised at about shoulder height.

"I'm asking you to speak as my mother. And I don't want a word of this breathed outside of this room until I myself make it public knowledge. Is that understood?" Stella glared at her mother, who nodded slowly. "Alright, so I'll get straight to the point of why I came here instead of someone, y'know... I actually like."

"I understand. Continue." Kuroi slowly nodded once, keeping her voice low.

"I love Motoko. And I want to something really special for her... But I don't know what I should do." Stella had a completely straight face as she spoke, but it broke into a loving smile as she thought about her lover. "And I don't want her to find out about it until it actually happens."

"Hence why you came to me, someone that both of you mutually distrust." Kuroi nodded in understanding. "So, let me get this straight... You're planning something for your girlfriend, and wanted to ask me for assistance?"

"I'm just looking for generic ideas. You don't know her like I do." Stella had a sudden 'are you fucking kidding me' expression on her face.

"I'm well aware of that." Kuroi reminded her daughter. "Seeing as how I've only spoken to her on two occasions, I'm rather confident in saying I don't know anything about her beyond her name and strange manner of dress."

"I actually like her leotard, thank you very much." Stella glared at her mother, then realized the number of times she'd spoken to Motoko didn't match up with her knowledge of their interactions. "Wait, you said you spoke to her twice?"

"She didn't tell you? She came by the next week to speak to me about the mandatory medical information for your employment. Seems that since you were rescued from that sadist, your personal information was overlooked. I assure you, I gave her what she wanted and kept the interaction completely professional, as did she." Kuroi regarded her suspicious daughter with honesty in her eyes.

"Fair enough. Now, back to the topic at hand. Any ideas for what I can do for her?" Stella spoke with a note of impatience in her tone as she placed her hands on the back of the two chairs placed before her mother's desk. "Do you actually want to help me, or should I just find someone who gives a fuck?"

"Can we at least keep the vulgarity to a minimum?" Her mother requested before humming in thought for a moment. "I assume you two live together?" Stella nodded, so Kuroi continued. "How about cooking her breakfast, and serving it to her in bed? Your father did that for me early on in our relationship many times."

"Anything else?" Stella considered the idea. She'd need to put some effort into hiding that one from Motoko, since Motoko was a rather light sleeper. Ironically, she'd be perfect to pull that on herself, since she slept like a rock.

"Hmmm..." Kuroi tapped her chin with her index finger before saying. "I can tell at a glance that you two are having sex, so why not surprise her in bed? Some lipstick and a nice set of lingerie, perhaps?"

"Good... Anymore before I leave?"

Kuroi sighed, running out of possible ideas. "I don't know... Maybe make her something, a gift. Put some effort into it, let her know you care about her as much as you say you do."

Stella smirked as she spun on her heel. Glancing over her shoulder she replied. "I actually care more about her than I say I do. Unlike you, she's actually cared about my well being before she even knew my name. She saved my life, you wouldn't understand what that's like, would you?"

With that, Stella's Therm-Optic Camo activated and she left through the partially open door, leaving her stunned mother to consider her subtly dark hint hidden in the harsh statement.

* * *

"This is one of the strangest cases we've had in a while..." Stella grumbled. She didn't like the situation that she and Motoko were currently in.

"You can say that again." Motoko agreed. "But we have a job to do, plain and simple."

"Bodyguard duty..." Stella scoffed. "And for a little kid, no less."

It was true. Section 9 had been assigned to protect some politician's daughter while simultaneously conducting an investigation into some hacking incidents. In a rather surprising twist, Motoko had been assigned to protect the girl, rather than using her hacking expertise to find the culprit.

"Well, at least she's well protected." Motoko replied as the car they were waiting for finally arrived. The girl was escorted around the back of the car by a domestic servant, and they came face to face with their charge for the first time.

Although she was dressed in a standard high school uniform, the girl's disdainful expression was oddly disappointed by the circumstances.

"Major Kusanagi and Agent Stella of Public Security Section 9, I presume?" The girl spoke in a bored voice, clearly unimpressed.

"That is correct. I'm Kusanagi, this is Stella." Motoko gestured to Stella, who was staring at the girl closely, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"I was expecting soldiers, not a woman and some girl." She scoffed, which earned a livid glare from Stella.

[Am I allowed to slap her?] Stella asked immediately. [I'm older than this bitch, and she thinks she's the boss of me!]

[No... But I will speak to her about that. Just try to stay calm, okay?] Motoko replied before switching back to speaking to the girl. "I would like to inform you that your father requested us for your personal protection. Our boss, Chief Aramaki, put the two of us onto your protective detail since we're the only females in our whole unit. At the very least, can we mutually respect each other?"

"If you do as you're told, then yes, that's fine." She scowled at being given the request, which made Stella shift her weight from one foot to the other, her arms crossed.

"Same goes for you. Unless you like throwing away your life, that is..." Stella spoke in a very low voice, denoting her anger.

"Need I remind you who you are speaking to?!" The girl snarled. "You titless slut!"

Motoko knew what Stella was about to do before she even did it, and she was standing just out of range to stop her from whipping out her Colt and holding it against the girl's left B-cup breast and pulled the hammer back with her thumb.

"Need I remind you that I'm the one with the gun in this arrangement. Insult my figure one more time, and I remove both of your boobs. Say anything stupid, I'll cut your fingers off with my katana blade. If you even attempt to strike me under any circumstance, I'll shoot you with the plasma cannon in my arm. Do. You. Understand?"

The girl gulped loudly, completely taken aback by Stella's aggression. She was so accustomed to having people just obey her because her dad was a politician that the mere thought of someone talking back to her never even crossed her mind.

"I... I understand." The girl nodded meekly, and Stella retracted the hammer back to the safe position and slid it back into her holster.

"Now that that's out of the way..." Motoko sighed before speaking. "What is on your schedule for today? There are some circumstances that we need to be particularily aware of, given the nature of the threat against you and your father."

"I have to go to school... After that, I have to go shopping for a dress for an upcoming school dance." She spoke without her arrogant tone from before Stella threatened her. It seemed she valued her figure quite a bit.

"Then let's get going." Motoko nodded, gesturing to her car. Stella had her bike, since they planned for all possibilities for the mission. Including a car chase or a gun fight. In fact, sitting in the back seat of Motoko's car were two M-23's and resting in a backpack on Stella's bike was a stockless M870 and a bulletproof vest for the girl.

* * *

Aramaki had arranged ahead of time for the girl's high school to receive word of their presense, and gave a full description of both Motoko and Stella for security purposes. Their plan was to follow the girl under the effect of Therm-Optic camoflauge, but Stella had a sudden idea upon arrival.

"Why don't I follow her while wearing the school uniform?" Stella asked with a shrug. "Wouldn't it draw less suspicion than having the two of us using Therm-Optics? You'd still be following us, regardless."

Motoko and the school principal shared a glance, considering the idea. "Are you sure that your limbs won't draw any attention?" Motoko asked. "Most of the kids here have organic eyes, so your radial optic hack won't be any use."

Motoko was referring to a new idea that she'd presented to Stella. With nothing more than a mental command, Stella could hack the eyes of anyone looking at her with a cyberbrain into thinking her titanium-alloy armoured limbs were actually flesh. However, it was completely ineffective when the onlookers lacked a cyberbrain. They would see the black metal regardless of whether the hack was active or not.

"That's not a big deal. The uniform's got opaque black stockings and long sleeves." Stella replied, her logic rather sound. She would just conceal them with the uniform's design, rather than hacking everyone's eyes. [And don't think I didn't notice that look on your face. I know you want to see me in a schoolgirl outfit, you lesbian cougar.] Stella had noticed the momentarily hopeful expression on Motoko's face. [Save it for when we're off duty!]


	30. Chapter 30

Stella's opinion of high school...

[I enjoy getting gangbanged more than this fucking shit. I mean, how the fuck do people put up with all the cat fighting, and the drama, and the borderline abusiveness that these fucking _children_ do to each other?!] Stella grumbled as she pretended to take down notes. The teacher had no idea she wasn't actually a student, nor that she was cyberized. [And did I ever tell you how much I enjoyed getting fucked by five disgusting old men at the same time?]

[Consider yourself lucky. The physical trauma of the sexual abuse, versus the mental trauma of high school. I'd prefer the physical, myself.] Motoko replied. She was hidden in the back of the classroom, keeping an eye on everyone and everything.

[Lucky is a figurative term, y'know.] Stella replied, still doing her job of being the brat's bodyguard. Hell, the fucking cunt wasn't even taking any notes herself! She had coerced a rather nerdy boy to do it for her!

"Hey, flat tits!" The girl suddenly whispered, which made Stella glare lividly at her.

"What?!" She snarled, but then felt Motoko's invisible hand on her shoulder as a warning.

"You two are the only ones from your unit or whatever here, right?" She asked quietly, so that the teacher didn't hear her.

"Yeah. The rest of Section 9 are busy with the rest of the case. Why are you asking stupid questions?" Stella hissed in annoyance.

"I think there's some guy in the hall. He keeps staring at me through the door's window."

[Motoko.] Stella already caught a glimpse of the man, and it wasn't any of the guys from Section 9. [He's not one of us.]

[How's your instincts right now?] Motoko asked, silently stalking around the back of the classroom towards the rear door - which was open due to minor damage - and leaned around the doorframe to scrutinize the man, simultaneously running a database check on his face.

[Negligible. I'm not getting any sort of instinct from him.] Stella replied, glancing at the man again to verify where he was.

[I've checked his ID. He's a local parent, must be picking up his kid. He has a visitor's pass in his hand.]

With that, the man politely knocked on the classroom door, and the teacher went to speak to him. A moment later, the teacher leaned back inside and called a boy forward, who left without incident.

[False alarm.] Motoko returned to her position near the back, while Stella leaned over and spoke to their charge.

"False alarm, brat. Just a parent picking up their kid."

* * *

The rest of the day went by without any incident, unless you count Stella's unwillingness to enter the girl's changing room with their charge. So, Motoko followed her instead, smirking at Stella's embarrassment and subtle loyalty.

Outside, during the girl's last class for the day, physical education class, Stella and Motoko were both using their Therm-Optic Camo to keep a low profile. Thankfully, the bleachers were completely empty, so they sat a few rows up and observed the class, keeping a particular eye on their charge.

[So tell me... Why didn't you want to go into the changing room? There were a lot of attractive girls in there, if I do say so myself.] Motoko couldn't resist teasing Stella, who by now had gotten rid of her student disguise and was back in her usual black shorts and tank top... albeit invisible at the moment.

[You're a lesbian cougar. Of course you'd like that.] Stella replied almost instantly. [I'm not exactly attracted to girls my age, in case you haven't noticed... I'm into...] Stella paused to choose her words for a moment. [More _mature_ women... not little girls.]

[More like none of them have big enough tits.] Motoko smirked, which - unknowingly - earned her a vicious glare from Stella.

[At least you had some fun in there.] Stella rested her chin on her knuckles, her elbow on her knee. [I had to sneak off and get changed, then run here... all without getting caught. Not easy to do in a building full of organic eyes.]

[But you did it. That's what counts.] Motoko replied, leaning back slightly and supporting herself by gripping the edge of bleacher, just behind her knees. [So, how's your hacking skills coming along? Have you managed to counter-induce your radial hack with your Therm-Optic Camo yet?]

Stella bit her lip. She hadn't managed to perfect that yet. The problem with her radial optic hack was that it conflicted with her Therm-Optic Camo. While the rest of her body would be invisible, the hack would still show her limbs being flesh, thus rendering the invisibility useless in combination. Stella knew the particular bit of code she needed to hack, but it was one of the innately encrypted ones in her Therm-Optic's programming, so she had been putting a lot of time into hacking through the damn thing's protection... with little success.

[Still working on it whenever I get a chance. It's a level 6 Type-D encryption with a dual layer defense barrier. I've gotten past the damn defense barrier, but then I need to get past the encryption before the underlying attack barrier kicks me out entirely. If I can get past that, then it's just me against the attack barrier. As far as I know, that's the last line of defense.]

[Are you using a barrier breaker code, or a D-3 assault pattern?] Motoko asked, since she knew from Stella's description what the problem was.

[Barrier breaker code. Why? Is the D-3 assault pattern better?] Stella asked, since she knew Motoko was a Wizard-class hacker. Doing this must be child's play for her.

[For this particular case, once you break through the defense barrier, immediately switch to the D-3 for the encryption. After that, like any attack barrier, you just need to brute force your way through. Not much to say in that regard. And I know you're good at battling against attack barriers.] Motoko explained the correct method for the triple protection method used by the Therm-Optic's coding.

Stella immediately went to work, using the barrier breaker code without much effort to take down the defense barrier, then the moment she got through, she switched to the recommended D-3 pattern, and after about fifteen seconds, the encryption flashed green in her vision, then the attack barrier attempted to force her back out of the program. Without the added protection to delay her, she was already prepared for the sudden mental force, taking it without issue and fighting with the attack barrier for several seconds until it broke and she breached the code. With a smirk, she immediately hacked the defenseless code without any further trouble, and smiled as she resealed the three layers of protection over her newly modified Therm-Optic Camo's coding.

[My hack's done... Testing now.] Stella reported to Motoko as she started the radial optic hack. [Did it work?]

[Well done, Stella. That was faster than I expected!] Motoko was impressed by her performance. [For a level 6 breach, you did the whole attempt in just under a minute. Thankfully it was within your own head, and not a database. A few more seconds, and alarms would be blaring right about now.]

* * *

After school ended, the three of them were wandering around the shopping district. Stella had her backpack over her shoulders, which contained her shotgun, the girl's vest and one of Motoko's M-23's, plus about half their total ammo stockpile. It wasn't heavy, but rather, it was meant to give the impression that she and the girl just left school, and that Motoko was taking them shopping. It was just a smoke screen, honestly.

Shop after shop, the girl went about her task of finding a dress for the school dance. After trying on nine dresses in total, she came back out of the dressing room in a huff, despite the dazzling dress she'd gone in with.

"My god, these dresses are useless! None of them are good enough!" She pouted, stomping her foot in frustration.

"If I may..." Motoko suddenly spoke up with an oddly amused smile. "How about we narrow down the one you have in mind, then we can work from that?"

Stella smirked, remembering the similar circumstances she'd gone through picking clothes with Motoko ages ago. Since she wasn't needed at the moment, she wandered over to one of the very few black dresses that wasn't obviously designed for funerals, her face splitting into a satisfied smile.

For a goth at heart... Stella wouldn't mind wearing this elegant black dress... once in a while.


	31. Chapter 31

"We were lucky that there was no direct attempt on her life... From both sides." Motoko commented, glancing at a fuming Stella seated nearby.

"I take it that she butted heads with Stella?" Aramaki regarded the livid teenager. "Do you mind telling me what happened?"

"Bitch was too full of herself. Every chance she got, she insulted my figure. If Motoko hadn't taken my guns and hacked my weapons system, I'd have slaughtered her."

"Your figure?" Aramaki raised an eyebrow, oddly amused. "And that's a bad thing?"

Stella's sudden glare could've shot daggers at Aramaki's subtle jab. "In case you haven't noticed, Chief... I fucking _hate_ dealing with people younger than about... I dunno... 25 years old. Togusa's pushing it at 27... Just saying."

"I know you like your cougars, Stella... But be nice to Togusa, he's got enough on his plate as is." Motoko reminded her with a sigh.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I like Togusa... I just hate people younger than him, especially people around my own age. Teenagers are so self-centered, trying to tear each other to shred over petty rumours and who had the more expensive shit."

"While you are correct... that doesn't change the fact you were fighting with the girl we were assigned to protect. I do hope you remedy this the next time we receive a protective detail assignment... Especially for someone's child."

"Understood, sir..." Stella sighed, not bothering to argue anymore. "Motoko... can you stop your hack? The damn thing's giving me a huge headache."

"Not yet... Chief's got something else to ask you." Motoko glanced over at Aramaki pointedly.

"Stella... The Major's informed me that you've been having trouble sleeping, is it alright if I asked you what's bothering you?"

"Motoko..." Stella growled in warning. She already was in a bad mood, but finding out that Motoko had ratted on her wasn't fucking helping.

"You're not being disciplined... This is more for your mental health. I assure you, the number of times I've acted as Section 9's therapist is rather numerous." Aramaki smirked. "So... what's wrong?"

"You do realize I have.. what's the letters again...?" Stella paused to recall the acronym. "PTSD! Yeah, that's it."

"That's a given. What in particular is bothering you? Nightmares?" Aramaki studied Stella's face as she nodded. "Well, putting aside the... unpleasant details, would you be willing to do a personal therapy program, once I've spoken to a professional?"

"I guess. Not like I have a choice." Stella frowned slightly.

"Actually... You do. And by the sound of things, you don't agree with this." Aramaki leaned forward in his chair, clasping his hands together. "In that case, when you do feel ready, come speak to me about it, okay?"

Stella still wasn't quite accustomed to people recognizing her consent like this, so Aramaki's sudden change of direction took her aback, and it must have shown on her face, because Motoko spoke up.

"You weren't exactly given free will for a very long time. It's only fair that we respect your wishes."

* * *

The next morning, Stella intentionally woke up way before Motoko, sneaking her way into the kitchen and staring into the fridge, making a list of all the ingredients she would need for the meal she planned to make for Motoko. She didn't exactly need many things, so she smirked and closed the fridge, only to come face to face with Motoko herself.

"Hungry?" Motoko smiled before suppressing a yawn.

"A bit, yeah..." Stella knew she wasn't going to get away with her plan now. She had to outsmart Motoko... somehow.

"Give me a minute to get ready, then we can figure something out, okay?" Motoko gave Stella a gentle kiss before heading back to her room to get herself ready for the day.

* * *

A few days later, Stella managed to get ahold of the ingredients for the meal she planned to make for Motoko. It wasn't all that much, but it was still within her level of cooking skill. It took a lot of patience on her part, but she finally managed to get Motoko out of the way for long enough to start cooking. Hell, even the Chief - though unknowingly - was helping her with the plan. He'd brought along for a government meeting. That left her just barely enough time to get her meal prepared AND get herself prepared at the same time.

She knew Motoko well enough by now to know how she'd react to Stella's plan. If everything went well, the food would get cold, but the sex would be absolutely hot as hell.

* * *

Later, Motoko came back to the safehouse in her formal military uniform, her left chest almost totally covered by the ranking badges that denoted her status as a Major. Stella herself was only a mere Sergeant, so her own badges were nowhere near as substantial.

"I should've known..." Motoko smirked, tugging her necktie loose with one hand, the other removing her shoes. "You do know I raid the fridge more than you think, right? I saw your ingredients."

"Is that all you saw?" Stella replied in a very playful manner, still busy at the stove with her back turned. Although she would never admit it - even to Motoko - she had a bit of a fetish for formal wear, especially ones similar to Motoko and her own military uniforms.

"There's more?" Motoko arched an eyebrow as she came around the corner, almost immediately stopping in her tracks as she caught sight of Stella's outfit...

Or lack there of...

"I... Uh..." Motoko was - surprisingly - at a total loss for words. Stella had chosen a very cheeky outfit to wear while she waited for Motoko to return. A _very_ skimpy thong and a very un-Stella like pink apron. Not to mention the fact that Stella'd gotten her hair cut into a very attractive pixie cut that partially covered her left eye - and her birthmark - while she'd been away. She'd also dyed it a nice navy blue.

"Like what you see?" Stella didn't even need to turn around. She knew her outfit had succeeded. Hopefully she didn't fuck up the food, and everything would've gone in her favour.

"How could I not?" Motoko approached Stella from behind, planting a very loving kiss just under Stella's ear - a spot she knew that Stella particularly loved to be kissed. "I get a home cooked meal from my sexy lover, what else is there to miss?"

Stella hummed lovingly at the contact, trying to focus on her cooking. She was _almost_ finished. The margin for error wasn't big, but it was enough to ruin everything else she'd made.

"Don't worry, I'll wait for you to finish." Motoko chuckled before giving Stella's inviting ass a loving squeeze before heading to her room to remove her uniform.

Stella finished her cooking with a satisfied sigh, turning off the stove and beginning to arrange everything onto two plates, making absolutely sure she didn't burn anything or undercook it either. As far as she could tell, she did everything right.

The moment she placed Motoko's plate on the table, Motoko opened her door, still in her uniform's dress shirt, skirt and black stockings. The tie was still around her neck, but loosened just enough to give her a sexy 'I just got home from work' look, which made Stella briefly check to see if she was drooling.

"So tell me... What brought this on?" Motoko smiled as Stella watched her begin to eat with almost adorable expectancy. It was evident that Stella had put every single ounce of effort she could into this whole event, so she had high hopes for the outcome.

"I'm insatiable, remember?" Stella smirked. "For both food AND sex. What's wrong with combining them both with the woman I love?" Stella took the first bite herself, prepared for the worst... but it wasn't as bad as she'd been expecting. In fact, she thought it turned out better than she'd hoped.

"That... I can't deny. You are very insatiable, and I like that." Motoko smiled at Stella, taking her own first bite and nodding in approval. "Y'know, for such a gothic tomboy... You look good in pink."

"Oh, this?" Stella immediately got sassy at the comment about her choice of colurs. "I couldn't find one that felt... right. I just knew that I wouldn't be wearing it for very long, so I just threw it on, y'know."

"Of that... I have no doubts." Motoko kept eating, already deciding on the method of foreplay she'd use on Stella as her reward for all her efforts.


	32. Chapter 32

"You've got to be kidding me..." Stella shook her head in disbelief. "This bitch is back?!"

"Hello to you too, Sergeant Stella." Sinclaire smirked as she greeted Stella as the younger woman entered Aramaki's office. "I like the new haircut."

"Stella... Behave. This is offical Section 9 business." Motoko warned her, already preparing to not only restrain her, but also hack her weapons again.

"So get to the point. If I'm involved, someone needs to get shot... Better hope it's not you."

"I see someone's a bit edgy today..." Sinclaire commented under her breath before speaking properly to the assembled members of Section 9. "I need Section 9 to infiltrate an annual gala run by my former business partners. I figured I'd swallow my pride for once and do some good in the world."

"How much is your sentence being reduced by this little midlife crisis you're having?" Stella quipped from her place against the wall.

"It's not." Sinclaire replied. "I've already served my sentence, and I am currently on very strict parole. I'm doing this all out of the limited good still in my heart. At least give me credit for what I have been attempting, Sergeant."

Stella smirked, but said nothing.

"So... Tell us more about this gala you mentioned." Aramaki took over the conversation, letting Motoko know to handle Stella with a silent nod.

"Formal event, scheduled two weeks from Friday at 8pm." Sinclaire immediately replied. "To the few members of the public that attend, it appears to be a charity dance... But behind the scenes, it's actually an organized sex slave and prostitution trade show. Most of the underworld members bring along their best products - meaning their sex dolls - or their best girls. There's a particular market for purely organic girls without cyberbrains. They're best affected by common manipulatory drugs."

"So, as a member, you can get us inside, can't you?" Motoko asked, her hands on her hips as she considered the information at hand. This was Stella's case all over again, on an even bigger scale.

"Even better... I can get you invited." Sinclaire smirked again. "You just need to dress the part."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Aramaki asked suddenly, unsure of what Sinclaire was planning.

"I know what she's planning..." Stella started to laugh, very loudly. "Fuck, I even have the perfect outfit in mind for this!"

Everyone shared concerned glances with either Motoko or Aramaki. They were all getting a bad feeling about this...

* * *

"I'm surprised you're going through with this... And of your own volition, to boot." Sinclaire didn't know what else to say to Stella, who was about to go in for the surprise surgery.

"You can only have a complex about something for so long until you seek to remedy it. It's actually something I've wanted to do for a while now... I just didn't really have a good enough reason until now." Stella chuckled to herself. "I'm not exactly sure how Motoko's gonna react to it though."

"One way to find out." Sinclaire nodded in understanding.

* * *

It turns out... Motoko didn't actually notice for several days. It seemed that the preparations for the infiltration mission were keeping her occupied. When she did notice, however, the circumstances were rather amusing.

"Correct me if I'm wrong... but is this yours?" Motoko spoke up while the two of them were in their safehouse. Stella was busy cleaning her Colt and looked up to see that Motoko was dangling one of her new bra's from one finger. It was one of four black ones she'd bought immediately after her surgery.

"Yeah, where was it?" Stella didn't deny it, but returned to cleaning her gun.

"I thought you didn't need a bra." Motoko chuckled, but then stopped talking almost instantly as she realized the reason behind it. "You sneaky little..."

Stella looked up and winked at her cheekily. "Don't worry, yours are still bigger. I only got B-cups." Stella smirked as Motoko finally noticed that Stella had undergone breast enlargement surgery. Though reasonably small, the effect was hardly unnoticed by the smirking cougar.

"How do they feel? Have they healed yet?" Motoko was able to contain herself as she sat down beside Stella and didn't even try to be subtle as she soaked in the sight of Stella's cute amount of cleavage.

"Oh, they feel fabulous. Soft, perky... Mmmm... lovely." Stella smiled before adding. "But they haven't healed quite yet. Another day or two, then they should be fine for you - and me - to enjoy."

"I can't wait." Motoko whispered into Stella's ear as she playfully swatted Stella's arm with the bra.

* * *

"YOU HAVE BOOBS NOW?!" Kurutan managed to grab Stella into a bear hug, clearly over-excited about Stella's latest body modification.

"I've always had tits... I've just made them bigger." Stella chuckled softly as Motoko pulled her Colt out of her belt holster for her. She didn't have her Beretta in her leg today, since they were taking some time for R&R before things got hectic at Section 9 for the lead up to the infiltration mission for Sinclaire.

"I really like the blue hair too, Stella." Ran smiled at the exchange. Behind Stella, Motoko had already removed their respective sidearms and placed them in the cabinet. "So what brought about the new look?"

"I wanted to surprise Motoko... And I succeeded." Motoko extracted herself from Kurutan's arms and followed the pair into the living room.

"How did you surprise her?" Kurutan's eyes glinted with excitement as they sat down.

"Classic naked apron and a home cooked meal." Stella chuckled. "I've got the ass for it, so why not flaunt it?"

"You certainly do." Motoko gently put her hand onto Stella's cheek and turned her head over to give Stella a loving kiss.

"So, ladies... What's first for your R&R? Drinks? Massage? Sex?" Kurutan's eyes were still glinting with excitement as she listed off the suggestions.

Motoko glanced at Stella with a smirk. "You choose." She said, and Stella put on an expression of mock thought as she considered the choices. After she made her decision, her face broke into a wide smile.

* * *

The next day, Stella and Motoko walked into work, each prepared for the incoming influx of preparations for their infiltration of the gala.

"Considering that the bitch hasn't really given us any intel about it at all, I'm stuck with my personal experience of one of the previous year's that she brought me along as a sex slave." Stella commented as they took the elevator up.

"So what happens at these galas?" Motoko asked.

"Aside from being fucked... I remember a lot of business-like meetings taking place in the upper floors. Apparently that video you guys have of me being given to Franz, it was one of those exact meetings. Other than that, it's honestly just a big gaudy dance to cover the influx of rich people coming to the same mansion every year."

"So, regardless, we need Sinclaire's influence in the underworld to get us inside. How do you feel about all of this?" Motoko asked, clearly concerned about Stella's PTSD. Having to revisit such dark times wouldn't be good for her.

"If you're worried about me, I'm pretty sure I can handle this. It's not like I'm a product for the bitch anymore." Stella nodded very slowly. "Besides, you'll be there too, so I don't need to worry myself."

"I'm here for you, no matter what... Miss Mato Kuroi." Motoko smiled as the elevator doors opened and they headed for Aramaki's office for the briefing meeting.

Sinclaire was already there when they arrived, dressed in a sharp pencil skirt and a button up shirt with an elegant light scarf around her neck. She also seemed to have brought coffees for everyone - which immediately made Stella raise an eyebrow.

"Two sugars, right?" Sinclaire gestured to the particular coffee for Stella, who scoffed and took the coffee dispite the minor mistake in her preferred order.

"Three actually... But I don't mind the fuck up." Stella took a sip as she sat down lovingly against Motoko's side. "So, let's get this shit started."


	33. Chapter 33

Motoko stood at the base of the glamorous ballroom's grand staircase. She was waiting on Stella, who had needed Sinclaire's assistance with her dress - due to lack of experience - and was due to return in a minute or two. Motoko herself was wearing a light, but elegant silver bareback dress.

For some reason, Motoko was nervous. There was something about this whole gala that was making her uneasy. Section 9 had members both inside and outside of the building, not to mention half a dozen Tachikoma's on standby. But the fact remained... she was nervous.

Suddenly the sound of Stella's oh-so-distinctive heelblades reached Motoko's ears, so she turned towards her partner...

And her eyes widened in utter amazement.

Stella was gorgeous. Still clinging to her goth style, but absolutely gorgeous.

She slowly came to a halt at the top of the staircase, standing elegantly tall with the black ball gown perfectly contrasting with her naturally pale skin and blue eyes and hair. She wore tasteful black makeup and had glossy black lipstick on her lips.

The upper portion of the dress was shaped like a bustier corset, and accented with silver metal along the bust and waist lines. The long skirt was glittering with dazzling gemstones and tastefully concealed her cybernetic legs. In addition to this, part of the skirt was connected to a shining bracelet on her right wrist, allowing her to control the skirt's movements. Also of note were the long black silk gloves that covered the entire length of her extensive cybernetic arms, and the jewelry that adorned her throat, ears and hair. All were silver and diamonds, including the tiara nestled on the top of her head.

Motoko suppressed a loud gulp as Stella finally noticed where she was standing and began to descend the staircase to take Motoko by the hand with a dazzling smile.

"Count yourself lucky, Motoko. One time deal, then the dress is going to disappear." Stella could already feel numerous gazes falling upon her the instant she arrived. She wasn't exactly self-conscious about the attention, in fact she felt good. _All_ eyes were on her when she entered, that was a damn impressive feat.

"Damn right it's going to disappear." Motoko immediately grew thankful that she was incapable of drooling like an idiot. "What I plan to do to you doesn't involve clothing."

[Ladies, enough with the risque chatter. Major, I expected more of you.] Aramaki's voice suddenly came through the team's shared data channel. [Focus on the mission at hand. Find Sinclaire and infiltrate the mafia meetings in the upper levels.]

"Buzzkill." Stella muttered under her breath, then spotted Sinclaire across the ballroom. "Shall we dance, my love?"

Motoko smiled, once again reminded of why she loved Stella. "Of course, my Mistress."

* * *

Aramaki pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He knew he had no say with their relationship, but at the same time, all of Section 9 could hear their sexual conversation over the data channel.

"I'm not gonna say it..." Batou noticed the action, speaking in a singsong tone with a smirk on is face. He was sitting across from the Chief in Section 9's unmarked van.

[If it's an 'I told you so', Batou, you can shove it up your plastic ass!] Stella's voice suddenly snapped at him over the shared channel. [I'm not a fan of any form of dresses, so the next snarky comment better be mine. you feel me, big guy?]

[My ass is actually metal, Stella-chan.] Batou replied, but the comment was immediately regretted when Motoko remotely hacked his arm and made him punch himself in the face, making him topple backwards to the floor with a heavy thud.

* * *

Stella smirked at Motoko's intervention, having done so without even breaking a single step in their dance. "Flawless as always, Motoko."

"I have my moments." Motoko smiled as the classical song ended. The pair immediately stepped off the dance floor and approached Sinclaire, who was speaking to her former business partners.

"Ah, Mistress Stella. Glad to see that you could make it." Sinclaire bowed respectfully at the younger woman that approached her. "I trust your flight went smoothly."

"Security here in Japan gave me a hard time, as always." Stella replied. "So, tell me, why are we here in this mockery of a ball when I'm here on business?" She suddenly asked with a hint of - genuine - annoyance.

"Of course, Mistress. If you'll please follow me." Sinclaire played the assigned role well, just like Stella was doing.

The story behind hers and Motoko's presense here was that she was a foreign dealer, under the title of Mistress, and she was interested in the latest trends and methods used by Japanese and Chinese slave trafficking groups. Hence the reason their invitations were legitimate, rather than forged. The patrons of the sex trade really thought she was a dealer.

Motoko, of course, was also involved in the story. She was not only Stella's bodyguard, she was also her _personal_ escort. That in itself was actually partially true, under different context.

* * *

[We're in. Beginning live feed.] Motoko reported back to Aramaki, simultaneously streaming her vision and hearing to the van, just like Stella was doing. Of course, it was encrypted like a motherfucker.

Stella's expression was disdainful. Thankfully her role as Mistress allowed for such distaste because she had a lot to judge what she was seeing. In reality, she was pissed about the whole sodded affair, and wanted to do nothing more than arrest the bastards. She was a walking attack squad by herself. Sexily lethal, in fact. Or was it lethally sexy? She dismissed that thought as Sinclaire presented one of the private rooms for her to enter, bowing respectfully once again.

"So what's the latest methods I should garner my attention towards?" Stella kept up the act since a few other dealers and traffickers were standing nearby, easily within earshot.

"Allow me to explain." Sinclaire replied as she followed Motoko inside and closed the door. The instant it closed, she became deadly serious. "Alright, let's get started. The real reason I'm having Section 9 do the infiltration."

Motoko raised an eyebrow. They had been briefed initially, but Sinclaire never mentioned the real reason they were doing this, instead of a proper raid - which Motoko knew that Stella would sadistically enjoy taking part in.

"Illegal prosthetic body modification for the captured girls." Sinclaire stepped away from the door and unclasped her purse, revealing a datachip. "Here's some of the intel I gathered from my insider."

"Where's the rest of it?" Stella accepted the chip and scanned it for Aramaki and Ishikawa to analyze.

"They explained the rest to me vocally." Sinclaire admitted. "So, they explained that the latest trend is forcibly giving the captured girls a prosthetic penis, this is obviously a terrible thing, but even worse is that it properly functions, in the sexual context." She explained. "No, I'm sure you understand that this is beyond the scope of the laws governing prosthetic bodies in general, correct, Major Kusanagi?" Sinclaire turned to the only fully prosthetic person present, who nodded slowly.

"For psychological reasons, sexual organs are removed from the design of all full and lower body prosthetics. But, forcing this onto organic girls is just the flip side of the same coin." Motoko explained. "Chief, we have our primary intel, what do you want us to do next?"

[I presume the modifications are done here, during the deals?] Aramaki queried, and Motoko relayed the question to Sinclaire, who nodded. [Locate and apprehend the person leading the operation. Do it quietly, so that the aristocrats at the ball don't catch a whisper of our presence here.]

"Understood, Chief." Motoko replied. "Stella, I'm willing to bet money that you brought at least two guns in here with you." She turned to her smirking lover, who nodded.

"Three, actually." Stella replied. She had her Beretta in the hidden holster, of course, but she also had her Colt securely holstered on her left calf - with ammo on the right - and a secret new gun augmentation that she hadn't even shown to Motoko yet. It was for her left arm, and basically involved the inner components of their standard issue M-23's and some ingenious modifications from Proto. She had three fully loaded assault rifle magazines strapped to her left leg. She was good to go, in case a firefight broke out. "So, Sinclaire, where's this futanari clinic located?"

"In the basement, separate from the rest of the building. A private, hidden elevator on this floor will take you straight there... But there's a catch." Sinclaire paused for a moment. "Security won't allow all three of us to enter. Only two at a time are allowed inside. One of you needs to go in... as a recipient for the surgery."

Motoko and Stella shared worried glances. They hadn't accounted for this at all.

"I'm sorry." Sinclaire apologized. "I don't make these rules, I just came here in the past to make money and conduct business."

[I'll do it.] Motoko spoke to Stella via their private line. [Unlike you, I can have the dick removed, or better yet, swap my cyberbrain case out of the body entirely and put it into my spare body back at home.]

Stella's cheeks turned very pink for a moment as she averted her gaze, clearly embarrassed by something.

[I... don't mind.] She replied hesitantly. [I'd be willing to try it out, if you're willing to do it too...]

[Well, that dress is going to disappear anyway... We might as well try something... new.] Motoko smiled at Stella's acceptance to her plan. "Chief, I'm going to act as the recipient..."

[I understand.] Aramaki could tell that it was for more than just the investigation that she was making that choice. [You do what you need to do.]

"Thank you... sir."


	34. Chapter 34

Sinclaire provided them with the information they needed to gain entry to the clinic, then to maintain her standing, she returned to the gala downstairs.

So, striding towards the elevator, Stella and Motoko were met by two lightly armed guards, who stopped them and asked. "Which of you has the appointment?"

"I do." Motoko replied flatly. "My Mistress is accompanying me for personal reasons, and does not wish to discuss the matter."

The guards gave nods, then stood aside for the two women to enter the elevator. Once inside, Stella glanced at Motoko, reassuring herself that the addition of Motoko's prosthetic penis was just a new sex trend that she was willing to give a try. It wasn't permanent and could be easily remedied.

However, Motoko was speaking to Aramaki via another private line. [So, Major, might I ask why you're doing this?]

[Well, spontaneity keeps a relationship alive.] Motoko replied cheekily. [Well, in all honesty, I'm not keen on the idea of Stella's psyche taking another blow if she woke up with a prosthetic penis between her legs. I'm fully cyberized, so I'm better equipped to not only handle the mental aspect, but the actual physical nature of it as well.]

[So, you're doing this for her, I take it?] Aramaki concluded.

[That's right, Chief.] Motoko replied, just as the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened, revealing the hidden cybernetics laboratory.

"Recipient, remove clothing and sit in the blue chair." A voice spoke up from behind a medical screen, sounding like an older male, at least in his forties.

Stella nodded at Motoko, who began to remove her dress as she sat in the designated chair.

"Handler, have you decided on the size of the prosthetic?" The voice continued, now speaking to Stella, it seemed.

"Eight long, one wide. Size four." Stella had already decided on the reasonably sized phallus in the short time since Motoko had decided to go through with it. She wasn't a size queen, but any means. She didn't want Motoko walking around with a log dangling between her luscious legs... That was just too much.

"Procedure will take twenty minutes." The male voice appeared to move from behind the screen as arm and leg restraints snapped in place around Motoko's unresisting limbs. "Take a seat in the red chair, Handler."

Stella glanced to the side, and saw a comfortable red armchair. With a silent sigh, she sat in the chair and watched Motoko's live eyeview, like the rest of Section 9 were doing.

The figure that was operating on Motoko - who had long since disabled her sensory organs and pain receptors - turned out to be an android. However, all of Section 9 could tell at a glance that the android was being remotely controlled by an operator.

[Given that we're underground, wouldn't the operator need to be at the very most, somewhere in the building?] Stella suggested. [The control signal couldn't be strong enough for such delicate movement otherwise.]

[Good point. Tachikoma, intercept all active signals in the building right now. Verify any network signals directed down to mine and Stella's current locations.]

[Yes, Major!] The Tachikoma immediately got to work analyzing the various signals inside of the multistory building. By the time that Motoko's procedure was completed, the Tachikoma reported back. [Signal confirmed, operator is located on the third floor, west wing!]

[Apprehend them.] Aramaki had long since stopped watching, waiting for the Tachikoma's report.

[You got it, Chief.] Motoko replied, sliding herself back into her own dress. Thankfully, it was able to conceal her new organ, so she followed Stella back into the elevator without a word until Stella spoke up in their personal line.

[How does it feel?]

Motoko smiled for a moment. [You'll find out when we get home, my love.]

* * *

Upstairs, in the room that the Tachikoma had located the source of the android's signal, was a man seated in a dive rig, still controlling the android in the basement. Suddenly, a proximity alarm beeped in his view, and he immediately disengaged his connection, grabbing a suppressed Serburo M5 from nearby and chambering a round. He extracted himself from the rig and directed the gun towards the only door, waiting tensely. Only two people knew about the room, and the other person was a sniper in a distant building he'd set up for protection, just in case.

So, when a knock at the door echoed in the room, he glanced at the hidden security camera that was aimed at the door from the outside and saw a purple haired woman in a silver dress standing outside.

With a sigh, her hid the pistol behind his thigh and opened the door slightly, peering through the gap.

"Oh, my apologies sir. I'm looking for my Mistress, have you seen her?" The purple haired woman smiled slightly.

"Could you describe her?" The man asked.

"Black ball gown, blue hair and eyes. Beautiful pale skin." She described her lover with that same serene smile.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone like that." He bowed his head slightly, but suddenly the door was shoved back by an unseen force and he was slammed to the floor, the pistol sliding across the floor and out of his reach.

"Because I'm invisible." Stella smirked as she disabled her Therm-Optic Camo, holding her Colt in both hands. "You are under arrest for involvement in sex trafficking, unlawful prosthetic modifications, organized crime and practicing medicine without a license."

"Are you sure about that?" The man grinned as Stella saw the momentary flash of a distant sniper gunshot. She leaned her head back as far as she could in the infinitesimal moment before the bullet punched a neat hole through the window and tore apart her jaw from the side.

Motoko immediately dove to her side as she was knocked to the floor from the impact. She was still alive, completely alert... and absolutely _pissed_!

[Motoko, I need you to rip off the rest of my jaw.] Stella's eyes were livid, but from her nose down was a mess of blood and mangled flesh. [I saw where that sniper was and I'm going to slaughter the bastard.]

"You need an ambulance, Stella. I can't do that!" Motoko supported her shoulders, completely shocked by the sudden events.

[Would you rather the sniper doing it to stop me? Then proceeding to kill me while I'm in pain?] Stella raised an eyebrow sassily. [Do it here, then call the ambulance to my location. It shouldn't take more than five minutes. More than enough time for the ambulance to arrive.]

Motoko hesitated, but knew that Stella was right. She nodded slowly. "Five minutes. Ready?"

[Do it.] Stella nodded as Motoko gently grasped the remnants of her shattered jaw before viciously ripping it off.

Stella groaned loudly, then turned her horrifying visage towards the sniper's distant building. She grabbed her dress' skirt and unhooked the hidden clasp that connected it to the corset portion, causing the whole thing to fall to the floor and reveal her hidden equipment - she wore her usual short shorts underneath, for this exact reason.

Without a word, she sprinted towards the window and dove straight through, neatly flipping through the air and landing on the ground in a precise three-point landing.

* * *

"What the hell is she thinking?! She's wounded!" Batou grabbed his nearby M-23 and prepared to leave the van, but Aramaki stopped him by holding up his hand.

"Don't do it. She's in the most dangerous mindset we've ever seen yet. Your assistance might be more dangerous to you than you think, Batou. Remain on standby until she dispatches the sniper."

[Chief, I have our primary target in secure custody. I'm using his own weapon against him. The med-evac for Stella is en route to her location.] Motoko relayed. [Batou, Chief's right. She'd probably try to kill you for interfering.]

Batou lowered his rifle, but didn't put it down. "I'm still going to check on her..."

"Escort her to the hospital." Aramaki nodded in understanding. "Wait another minute, then proceed to her location."

* * *

The mercenary sniper saw the girl he'd shot launch herself out of the window and knew right away that he was dealing with a cyborg. There was no way someone of her size would willingly jump from the third floor like that if they were human.

He hurriedly scanned the area between his perch and the mansion, but saw no sign of the injured cyborg.

Since he was on the fifth floor, he didn't hear her until she reached the third floor... when he heard the heels.

Tink. Tink. Tink. Tink.

He nervously rechambered a round into his suppressed bolt action rifle, turning it to face the open door.

Tink. Tink. Tink. Tink.

She was on the stairs, probably the flight at the other end of the long corridor.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

The sound changed suddenly, like a different object was being tapped on the floors or walls.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

It was surprisingly unnerving to hear those sounds, accompanied by silence and a slight echo in the otherwise empty building.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

Then it stopped. About a dozen feet from the open door, and everything suddenly went completely silent. He could only hear his thundering heartbeat and he his breathing as he tried to keep the rifle steady at chest height towards the door.

Suddenly something impaled through the flesh of both of his cheeks from beside him, blood splattering along the wall as it was pulled out just as quickly.

A strong hand then grasped him by the jaw, turning his face to the side to reveal the aftermath of his snap decision to pull the trigger.

* * *

Batou heard the man scream from the first floor, and sprinted as fast as he could all the way to the room to find Stella sitting on the man's stomach while his legs kicked and thrashed behind her. She had her back to the door, and her legs were also pinning the man's arms to his sides, rendering him completely defenseless. The only sound in the room was wet gurgling and the scuffing on the man's feet on the floor.

Batou had seen some fucked up shit during his time as a Ranger, especially in Central America, but as he approached Stella from the side, he had no idea the extent of the damage she had undertaken...

"Fucking hell..." Batou was taken aback by Stella's injury, but at the same time, every anime yandere and psychopath on the Net couldn't compare to what she was currently doing to the still living sniper.

She was using her claws to slowly tear off his jaw, taking her sweet fucking time to do so, slicing slowly and deeply. Inch by inch she was ripping the flesh away, and she'd even shoved her katana through the side of his mouth, tearing the sides of his lips in the process.

She'd also cut out his tongue and castrated him.

He was fucked from the moment he'd pulled the trigger... and he now knew that cold hard fact.

[Hey... Why so serious, Batou?] She suddenly spoke to him over a data channel, no doubts she'd be smiling... If she could at that moment.


	35. Chapter 35

Motoko and Batou sat in silence outside of the trauma room, watching the team of technicians and doctors working on Stella's face. At her request, she wasn't having her original jaw reconstructed. Rather, she wanted more of her distinctive black Titanium-alloy as a replacement. Nobody made any objections, since the paramedics were rather quick to spread the word about how she was found, sadistically torturing the mercenary's corpse.

"So how'd the bullet hit her?" Batou asked suddenly. He was still in his tactical gear, and Motoko was in her dress.

"I gathered that she spotted the muzzle flash, and because of the distance, she had a second to move her head out of the way. The bullet hit her from the side and tore apart her jaw. It was hanging from one side when she told me to tear it off so she could go kill the sniper."

"I see." Batou nodded in understanding. That explained how the damage was so uneven.

"So she's getting a Raiden V2 series jaw, I see." Aramaki came up behind them, catching a brief glimpse of the replacement construct.

"How do you know?" Batou asked, neither of the two full cyborgs recognized the particular jaw model he was talking about.

"An old colleague of mine had a soldier under his command, a swordsman just like Stella, that was injured very badly in a fight. So, at his request, he had a metal jaw instead of a prosthetic one, and the custom made design became known by the soldier's official callsign, Raiden. The V2 series is just the updated version of that design."

At that moment, one of the doctors came out of the trauma room and removed his surgical mask.

"Motoko Kusanagi?" He asked, and she held up her hand. "The bone was obliterated, but she was very lucky. Her upper jaw and tongue survived unscathed, and we're now putting the Raiden V2 into place inside her sockets. She's going to be alright."

Motoko sighed with relief. "So what about her rehabilitation?"

The doctor shook his head with a smile. "I think it's safe to say that you and I both know she's not going to need that. At most, she won't be comfortable with not having her lower lip anymore, but with time, that's not a problem."

"So her speech shouldn't be affected?" Motoko asked, concerned.

"Maybe for the first little while, a slight lisp or impediment, but nothing severe." The doctor explained. "If all goes well, she should be finished within the next fifteen minutes. No need for overnight observation, you can bring her home right away."

Those next fifteen minutes were the longest in Motoko's life.

* * *

"How do you feel?" Motoko asked the moment that Stella came out of the trauma room.

"My face is sore, I'm tired, really hungry and very horny." Stella replied sassily before the edge of her lip twitched upwards into a vague smirk. "But other than that, I feel absolutely fabulous. How about you?" While speaking, she had a slight hiss while pronouncing the phonetic sound of S.

"I concur." Motoko replied before gently kissing Stella's new mouth, which was going to take some getting used to, on both of their parts.

"R&R for recovery. I expect to see you two in high spirits in two days time. I already have your live feeds from the mission, so your reports aren't needed." Aramaki spoke sternly to Stella. "You both performed excellently this evening, especially you, Stella."

* * *

Motoko drove Stella back to their safehouse, neither really saying too much. It had been a very long and draining day.

"Want to order a pizza?" Stella asked suddenly, pulling out her pocket watch to check the time. Most places would be closing by now.

"Sure thing." Motoko smiled slightly as she pulled the car to a stop. They both got out and Motoko placed the order by the time they exited the elevator on their floor.

The moment that Motoko unlocked the front door, Stella was already inside, her corset falling to the floor barely three feet inside, quickly followed by her equipment in short succession.

Motoko hadn't even taken her heels off when Stella disappeared into her room, only to reappear a minute later with her oversized dress shirt and no shorts... or panties.

"Care to join me in the shower while we wait for the pizza?" She stopped in the bathroom doorway, regarding her smirking lover near the door.

"I'd love to." Motoko smiled before joining Stella in the bathroom, discarding her dress along the way.

* * *

in a rather amusing display of timing, the exact same pizza delivery boy from before was the one that had received their order. The amusing part was the fact that Motoko had hurriedly wrapped herself in a towel to answer the door.

The pizza boy's eyes went wide as saucers when he took in the sight of Motoko's freshly showered form, her barely restrained cleavage... and her dick.

"My eyes are up here." Motoko reminded him, once again commenting without looking. "Do this one more time, and you won't get your tip."

"Are you... a full cyborg?" It was the first time he'd spoken.

"Over 95%" Motoko replied, just as Stella joined her, fondling one of her breasts and her flaccid member in each hand.

"58% for me." Stella kissed Motoko as the delivery boy went very red in the face.

"I-I'm sorry for asking such a personal question." He accepted the offered wad of money, handed over their pizza order and hurried away.

"I actual like tormenting him, for some reason..." Motoko smiled as she closed the door and sat on the couch to eat together.

* * *

"Hey, Chief... I've got a strange question. Entirely hypothetical, of course." Batou spoke up during their drive back to HQ.

"Is it about Stella and the Major?" Aramaki regarded the cyborg shrewdly.

"Yes." Batou admitted. "Hypothetically, if they got engaged, how would you feel?"

"I'd feel quite proud of them. I expect you would too, yes?" Aramaki replied.

"I would, yeah. Just thought I should ask, is all." Batou replied, not willing to admit that he'd had personal feelings towards Motoko for several years now. But he suppressed his jealousy for the sake of their respective happiness.

* * *

Stella was cheekily fondling Motoko's member with one hand while she ate her pizza. Motoko had long since given up on resisting the sensation, thus her length was at full size and rigid under Stella's hand. She was honestly just trying to maintain her composure at this point.

"Having fun?" Stella's lip twitched upwards into her unusual form of a smirk.

"A better question would be are _you_ having fun?" Motoko teased.

"No. Not really." Stella replied before suddenly swinging her leg over Motoko's thighs and straddling her with a glint in her eyes. "But this is a step in the right direction."

"I like where this is going." Motoko set aside her pizza slice as Stella started grinding her entrance along the entire length of Motoko's shaft. "My Mistress." She teased as Stella gave her a coy wink in reply.

Stella let out a shuddering breath, enjoying the sensation before suddenly kissing Motoko's neck, then her collarbone, and trailing more and more down the center of her cleavage. She seductively crawled backwards as she went, lightly trailing her fingers along Motoko's tense thighs until she was staring directly at Motoko's length with a clearly pleased smile pulling at her lip.

"Been a while since I saw one as perfect as this." Stella commented before gently kissing the very tip of the head. "Kinda sucks that this is totally illegal."

"I'm sure that won't matter. I did technically consent to it." Motoko bit her lower lip as the sensation of Stella's lips. It was so foreign, but felt so good at the same time.

"Speaking of which..." Stella's eyes glinted mischievously. "Since this is all so new to you, would you agree that you're technically a virgin in this context?"

"Technically, yes." Motoko smiled knowingly.

"Then allow me to pop your cherry, sweetheart." Stella winked before taking Motoko's length into her mouth with a very pleased sounding hum.

Motoko groaned loudly the instant her length was enveloped by Stella's very experienced mouth. This was an entirely new sensation, and she doubted she could last as long as she normal could.


	36. Chapter 36 - Finale

"I think we should keep it." Motoko panted for breath after their long sex session. Stella was covered in sweat, but totally satisfied.

" _Totally_." Stella replied, laying down against Motoko's body and nestling her head on Motoko's shoulder, quickly falling asleep together with serene smiles on their faces.

* * *

"Yes, ma'am... We've managed to get the data."

Kuroi smiled victoriously. "I knew you were the right team for the job. Your payment, as we arranged, is being transferred to your specified account as we speak."

"Pleasure doing business as always, Mastermind." The mercenary on the phone replied respectfully before hanging up the phone.

Kuroi stood up from her desk and turned towards the large window in her office, clasping her hands behind her back with that same victorious smile adorning her face.

"I knew my husband wasn't who he claimed to be... It was only a matter of time before I found out, darling." She spoke to herself with a sinister laugh.

* * *

Stella woke up very slowly. It was definitely much later than she usually woke up, but she didn't want to move. She was far too comfortable right here.

After a minute or two, Stella gave up on going back to sleep. She just laid there, listening to the sound of Motoko's breathing beside her. This was one of the little things in her life that just made everything so much sweeter.

"If I had a heartbeat, I presume you'd have your ear against my chest to listen to it." Motoko suddenly spoke up, startling her.

"It'd make the moment more romantic, for sure." Stella idly traced the tip of her index finger along Motoko's toned stomach. "Why are abs so sexy?" She asked suddenly, glancing at her curiously.

"Because it shows discipline and effort." Motoko smiled. "Mine are fake, sadly. That's why yours are so much better than mine."

"I should wear crop tops more often." Stella smirked. "And with this, I recommend pants." Stella gently squeezed Motoko's member as she spoke.

"I do have a spare body stored here, remember?" Motoko smiled. "Not very difficult to swap into my... unmodified one."

"I remember you saying you had at least one spare prosthetic body stored at each of your safehouses, do you have one at HQ as well?"

"Exactly." Motoko nodded. "Unlike you, if I get injured, it's permanent." She winked for a moment. "So, let's enjoy our day off. I have something fun in mind for today."

"Oh do tell." Stella quickly got up and joined Motoko in the bathroom for a shower.

"You can swim, right?" Motoko asked with a sly smile.

"Yeah...?" Stella was suspicious as Motoko turned the water on.

"Then would you care to join me for a trip to the beach?"

"Might want to switch to your other body for that." Stella's eyes crinkled into a smile, despite her upper lip not moving very much.

"Oh, I totally agree. That one has much better abs." Motoko winked as they started to clean themselves up.

* * *

After a very intimate and soapy shower, Stella and Motoko went through the surprisingly simple process of swapping Motoko's cyberbrain case into her spare body. After she was operational, they stored the futanari body, then left the safehouse for the shopping district to pick up a bikini for Stella.

Of course, being the cougar she was, Motoko was quick to tease Stella with a variety of bikini's in a near rainbow of colours. Stella, in response, found the sexiest black bikini available and bought it - and put it on under her shorts and tank top - before Motoko could stop her.

" _Nope! No! No pink_!" Stella fended off Motoko's giggling attempts to get her into a hot pink one. "Not happening!"

"Then how about a blue one? It'll match your hair!" Motoko quickly replaced the pink one with a blue one that nearly perfectly matched Stella's dark blue hair.

"Diehard goth!" Stella indicated herself with both of her thumbs. "Lesbian cougar." She pointed at Motoko in a similar manner with her index fingers. "You can have that one!"

"Oh c'mon~!" Motoko teased, trying to sidestep her, but they both froze when something softly dropped to the floor between them.

They both shared a glance, then lowered their gazes to see a small black felt-lined box sitting between them.

" _Shit_." Stella went brick red in the face. Her face nearly matched a nearby one piece swimsuit hanging on a rack.

"That better not be what I think it is..." Motoko glanced between the box and Stella's frozen expression.

"It is." Stella admitted very quietly.

"So.. I guess my whole plan's gone up in smoke..." Motoko lowered the blue bikini in her hands and reached into her leather jacket's inner pocket to produce a same sized box of purple felt.

Stella covered her mouth with her hands, tears in her eyes.

"Wasn't _quite_ the place I had in mind..." Motoko slowly lowered herself onto one knee as she opened the ring box and produced a dazzling silver engagement ring. "But seeing as how you had the same idea in mind, I guess we'll have to make do."

Stella was at an utter loss for words. For once, her sharp tongue had failed her, she was starting to cry, but just shook her head as Motoko slipped the ring onto her finger.

"Now, let's see what you were hiding so well from me..." Motoko slowly retrieved Stella's ring box, popping it open to reveal an equally beautiful gold ring with a large diamond and two sapphires on it in a star shaped frame. "It's beautiful, Stella. I love it, and more importantly, I love _you_ , Miss Mato Kuroi."

* * *

The two of them enjoyed their time at the beach, but the instant they returned home that evening, Motoko couldn't switch back into her futanari body fast enough. For the rest of the night, they didn't leave each others embrace, their rings glinting in the near-darkness.

* * *

 **A/N: And just to be an asshole, I'm ending the story here. Before you all explode... Yes, a sequel is happening, no I haven't started writing it yet. I got some other stories to do at the moment. Namely Black Sheep and Yuki-onna. Once I'm satisfied by my progress for those, I'll begin writing the sequel to this, which will be called Breaking Bones and Hearts.**


End file.
